Carbon

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Carbon
(Photo Credit: PeriodicTable.com)
Group: 14
Block: P
Atomic Number: 6
Relative Mass: 12

Carbon was discovered prehistorically and was known by earlier humans in the form of soot as well as charcoal. This element is hugely important for life. Not just as an element that sits within carbon fibre or charcoal, it also has an important biological role. It was a French scientist, Antoine Lavoisier who named Carbon. The name of Carbon comes from the Latin name of carbo which was used for coal or charcoal.
Antoine Lavoisier also carried out several experiments to understand the properties of Carbon. In the year 1772, Lavoisier, as well as other chemists, came together to buy a diamond. They experimented on this diamond, placing this jewel into a closed glass jar and concentrated sun rays onto the diamond. The diamond burned and created carbon dioxide - due to the system having Oxygen within the closed jar. Antoine Lavoisier concluded that diamond and charcoal must have the same element which was Carbon. Yet, charcoal isn't really a form of pure carbon. Though I reckon that you would know some of the pure forms of carbon with two of the forms being diamonds and graphite. Though there are two more allotropes of carbon, graphene and fullerenes.

Graphene
(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)
Graphene is a form of pure carbon where the atoms of carbon are arranged in a hexagon lattice. It was isolated by two professors, Prof. Andre Geim and Prof. Kostya Novoselov from the University of Manchester in 2004. For a better explanation of graphene, you're welcome to watch their video linked here. It is a good conductor - A material which allows, in this case, electric and heat through it. By what I've seen when I was researching Graphene seems new. Yet, there are many applications for this form of carbon. These applications can be anything from advancing biomedical Science to Electronics or to be used as Membranes/filters for water (Source). It'll be fun to see what advancements that are made available.

Fullerenes are the last form of pure carbon. It is a sphere or cuboidal shaped molecule which was discovered in 1985 by Sir Harold W. Kroto in the UK as well as two other chemists from the US - Richard E. Smalley and Robert F. Curl Jr. They did it by lasering a graphite rod within an atmosphere of helium. This discovery led to a new chapter for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Fullerenes are a brilliant conductor for electricity and heat. The trio of chemists received the Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1996.

The Spherical Fullerene
(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)
Like allotropes, there are several types of isomers. Isomer is a term which means that it is the same elements but has a different arrangement of the atom. There are three types - 12C (Which makes around 99% of all carbon on Earth), 13C and 14C.

Carbon is a unique element due to its ability to form strong chain bonds that are sealed off by hydrogen element. These compound are known as hydrocarbons due to the elements involved. Hydrocarbons are typically extracted as fossil fuels and are used as such. But, the smaller chains can be used for petrochemical plants which make all sorts of things like polymers, fibres, paints, solvent and plastics.

Carbon - the Biological Uses
  • Most living things get Carbon from Carbon Dioxide which is either in the atmosphere or dissolved within water.
  • Plants, as well as certain plankton, used photosynthesis to use the sun's energy to split water molecules and to combine the Hydrogen atoms with Carbon dioxide in order to make carbohydrates.
  • Some carbohydrates with other elements like Nitrogen and Phosphorous make important structures in the body. One of those structures is DNA.
Some of Carbon's Many Uses 

  • Carbon in the form of graphite is used in pencils. Graphite is also used within brushes in
    This is a blue diamond which comes from
    a trace amount of Boron.
    Other colours of diamond can be found.
    (Photo Credit: Popular Science)
    electric motors and in furnace linings.
  • Activated charcoal (impure carbon) is used in most beauty products now, from face masks to toothpaste. Along with purification and filtration
  • Carbon fibre is a very strong but lightweight material. Currently, carbon fibre is used for tennis rackets, aeroplanes and skis
  • Impure carbon as charcoal and a coal substance known as coke are used in the smelting process of metals. Especially important in the iron and/or steel industries
  • Diamond, they are not just used as shiny precious jewels in necklaces. Some industries use diamond for cutting rocks and drilling. Diamond films can also protect surfaces.

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