Carbon: Facts About an Element that is a Key Ingredient for Life

Carbon is a chemical element with the atomic number 6 and the symbol C. It comes from the Latin word carbo, which means “coal.” It’s non-metallic and tetravalent, which means it can bond chemically with four electrons. It belongs to the 14^th group of the periodic table. Only roughly 0.025 percent of the Earth’s crust is made up of carbon. The stable isotopes 12C and 13C are found in nature, but 14C is a radioactive with a half-life of around 5,730 years. Carbon is one of the few elements that has been known since the beginning of time.

Definition

After hydrogen, helium, and oxygen, carbon is the 15^th most prevalent element in the Earth’s crust and the fourth most plentiful element in the universe by mass. Carbon’s abundance, unique range of organic compounds, and exceptional ability to form polymers at temperatures routinely found on Earth make it a common component of all known life. After oxygen, it is the second most prevalent element in the human body in terms of mass (approximately 18.5 percent).

The Following Are Some Facts Concerning an Important Component Of Life

Carbon is a designer of patterns. It has the potential to bind to itself, generating polymers, which are long, tenacious chains. Because of its electron configuration, it can also connect with up to four additional atoms. Atoms are made up of a nucleus surrounded by an electron cloud, with electrons whizzing around at various distances from the nucleus.

Uses of Carbon

• Carbon’s ability to form lengthy carbon chains and rings is one of its most astounding features. Catenation is the name for this characteristic of carbon
• Carbon has a number of unique properties, one of which is the ability to generate p-p bonds, which are double or triple bonds between itself and other electronegative atoms such as oxygen and nitrogen
• Carbon has a variety of allotropic forms due to its two capabilities of catenation and multiple bond creation

Characteristics

Allotropes

Because atomic carbon is such a short-lived species, it is stabilized in a variety of multi-atomic structures with a variety of molecular configurations known as allotropes. Amorphous carbon, graphite, and diamond are the three most well-known allotropes of carbon. Fullerenes, which include buckyballs, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanobuds, and nanofibres, were once regarded exotic but are now frequently manufactured and employed in research. Several additional unusual allotropes, such as lonsdaleite, glassy carbon, carbon nanofoam, and linear acetylene carbon, have also been identified (carbine).

 Occurrence

After hydrogen, helium, and oxygen, carbon is the fourth most abundant chemical element in the observable universe in terms of mass. Carbon can be found in abundance in the Sun, stars, comets, and most planets’ atmospheres. Microscopic diamonds produced when the Solar System was still a protoplanetary disk can be found in some meteorites. The strong pressure and high temperature at meteorite impact sites can also produce microscopic diamonds.

Isotopes

Carbon isotopes are atomic nuclei with six protons and a number of neutrons (varying from 2 to 16). Carbon has two stable isotopes that occur naturally. Carbon-12 (¹²C) accounts for 98.93 percent of carbon on Earth, with carbon-13 (¹³C) accounting for the remaining 1.07 percent. Because biochemical activities discriminate against ¹³C, the concentration of ¹²C in biological components is increased much more. The isotope carbon-12 was selected as the foundation for atomic weights by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in 1961. The isotope ¹³C is used to identify carbon in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) investigations.

Carbon-14 (¹⁴C) is a naturally occurring radioisotope formed when nitrogen interacts with cosmic rays in the upper atmosphere (lower stratosphere and upper troposphere). It’s generally found in trace concentrations of 1 part per trillion (0.0000000001 percent) or higher on Earth, mostly in the atmosphere and superficial layers, especially of peat and other organic compounds. This isotope emits a 0.158 MeV emission when it decays. ¹⁴C is almost non-existent in ancient rocks due to its comparatively short half-life of 5730 years. The amount of ¹⁴C in the environment and in live beings is nearly constant, although it diminishes in their bodies after death predictably.

Physical Properties of Carbon

• Carbon is a one-of-a-kind element. It comes in a variety of sizes and shapes. Coal and soot are two examples of carbon in its purest form.
• Colour is a smooth, drab grey or black.
• Charcoal is one of the most important carbon compounds, which is generated when carbon is burned in the absence of air.
• It comes in a wide range of allotropic forms. Allotropes are different types of an element having different physical and chemical properties.
• Various types of carbon have different densities depending on where they came from. There are pure forms of carbon and non-pure forms of carbon, such as coal, which is a mixture of both carbon and hydrogen.

Chemical Properties of Carbon

• In general, carbon compounds undergo four reactions:

1. Reaction of combustion.
2. Reactions of oxidation.
3. Reaction of addition.
4. Reaction of substitution.

• To generate carbon dioxide, carbon requires oxygen, heat, and light, as we all know. The process of burning something in the air to produce carbon dioxide is known as combustion
• Let’s look at some samples of how this works when it’s burned in the air Carbon dioxide, heat, and light are produced when methane CH4 is burned in the presence of oxygen

Incredible Element

Carbon’s amazing capacity to connect with a wide range of other elements is one of the reasons it is essential to practically all forms of life. The discovery of carbon is lost to history. In the form of charcoal, the element was known to primitive humans.

Carbon Is Stronger Than Steel

Steel has traditionally been utilized to build constructions that are strong, long-lasting, and stiff. Carbon fibre is a new addition to the structural materials world, but its qualities are amazing and one-of-a-kind. The qualities of these two materials are compared here, along with some instances of sectors that are adopting carbon fibre. 

Carbon Is Sixth Most Abundant Element

According to the Swinburne Center for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, carbon, the sixth most abundant element in the universe, develops in the belly of stars through a reaction known as the triple-alpha process. Helium builds in older stars that have burnt most of their hydrogen. 

Conclusion

Carbon is a fascinating substance. Its existence in the cores of stars, its abundance but not in pure form, and its vitality to life make it an ideal element to research, hunt for, utilize in alloys, and wear on jewellery. Carbon is found in so many things and places that it boggles the mind, and it holds a special place in our hearts. Another one, as carbon is already present in the heart, what with carbon being present in the tissue and all. So let us continue to research, search for, use, and wear carbon!