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Carbon, 6C
Graphite-and-diamond-with-scale.jpg
Graphite (left) and diamond (right), two allotropes of carbon
Carbon
Allotropes graphite, diamond and more (see Allotropes of carbon)
Appearance graphite: black
diamond: clear
Standard atomic weight Ar, std(C) [12.009612.0116] conventional: 12.011
Carbon in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium
Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon
Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton
Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon
Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon
Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson


C

Si
boroncarbonnitrogen
Atomic number (Z) 6
Group group 14 (carbon group)
Period period 2
Block   p
Electron configuration [He] 2s2 2p2
Electrons per shell 2, 4
Physical properties
Phase at STP solid
Sublimation point 3915 K ​(3642 °C, ​6588 °F)
Density (near r.t.) amorphous: 1.8–2.1 g/cm3
graphite: 2.267 g/cm3
diamond: 3.515 g/cm3
Triple point 4600 K, ​10,800 kPa
Heat of fusion graphite: 117 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity graphite: 8.517 J/(mol·K)
diamond: 6.155 J/(mol·K)
Atomic properties
Oxidation states −4, −3, −2, −1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4 (a mildly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity Pauling scale: 2.55
Ionization energies
  • 1st: 1086.5 kJ/mol
  • 2nd: 2352.6 kJ/mol
  • 3rd: 4620.5 kJ/mol
  • (more)
Covalent radius sp3: 77 pm
sp2: 73 pm
sp: 69 pm
Van der Waals radius 170 pm
Color lines in a spectral range
Spectral lines of carbon
Other properties
Natural occurrence primordial
Crystal structure graphite: ​simple hexagonal
Simple hexagonal crystal structure for graphite: carbon

(black)
Crystal structure diamond: ​face-centered diamond-cubic
Diamond cubic crystal structure for diamond: carbon

(clear)
Speed of sound thin rod diamond: 18,350 m/s (at 20 °C)
Thermal expansion diamond: 0.8 µm/(m⋅K) (at 25 °C)
Thermal conductivity graphite: 119–165 W/(m⋅K)
diamond: 900–2300 W/(m⋅K)
Electrical resistivity graphite: 7.837 µΩ⋅m
Magnetic ordering diamagnetic
Molar magnetic susceptibility −5.9·10−6 (graph.) cm3/mol
Young's modulus diamond: 1050 GPa
Shear modulus diamond: 478 GPa
Bulk modulus diamond: 442 GPa
Poisson ratio diamond: 0.1
Mohs hardness graphite: 1–2
diamond: 10
CAS Number 7440-44-0
History
Discovery Egyptians and Sumerians (3750 BCE)
Recognized as an element by Antoine Lavoisier (1789)
Main isotopes of carbon
Iso­tope Abun­dance Half-life (t1/2) Decay mode Pro­duct
11C syn 20 min β+ 11B
12C 98.9% stable
13C 1.1% stable
14C trace 5730 y β 14N

Carbon is a very important chemical element, with a chemical symbol of C. All known life on Earth needs it. Carbon has atomic mass 12 and atomic number 6. It is a nonmetal, meaning that it is not a metal.

When iron is alloyed with carbon, hard steel is formed. Carbon in the form of coal is an important fuel.

Chemistry of carbon

A whole type of Chemistry, organic chemistry, is about carbon and its compounds. Carbon makes many types of compounds. Hydrocarbons are molecules with carbon and hydrogen. Methane, Propane, and many other fuels are hydrocarbons. Many of the substances that people use daily are organic compounds.

Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and some other elements like sulfur and phosphorus together form most life on earth (see List of biologically important elements). Carbon forms a very large number of organic compounds because it can form strong bonds with itself and with other elements. Because of the amounts of carbon living things have, all organic things are considered "carbon-based". Each carbon atom can form four single covalent bonds. These bonds allow carbon to form long chain-shaped molecules, called polymers, such as plastics.

Etymology

The name of carbon comes from Latin carbo, meaning charcoal. In many foreign languages the words for carbon, coal and charcoal are synonyms.

Types of carbon

Carbon in nature is found in three forms called allotropes: diamond, graphite, and fullerenes. Graphite, with clay, is in pencils. It is very soft. The carbon atoms in it make rings, which are on top of each other and slide very easily. Diamonds are the hardest natural mineral. Fullerenes are a "soccer ball" shape of carbon. They are mostly of interest to science. A special, man-made, tube-shaped allotrope of carbon is the carbon nanotube. Carbon nanotubes are very hard, so they might be used in armor. Nanotubes might be useful in nanotechnology.

There are 10 million known carbon compounds.

Eight Allotropes of Carbon
Some forms of carbon: a) diamond; b) graphite; c) lonsdaleite; d-f) fullerenes (C60, C540, C70); g) amorphous carbon; h) carbon nanotube.

Radiocarbon dating

A radioactive isotope of carbon, carbon-14, can be used to figure out how old some objects are or when something died. As long as something is on the surface of the earth and taking in carbon, the amount of carbon-14 stays the same. When an object stops taking in carbon, the carbon-14 amount goes down. Because the half-life (how long it takes for half of a radioactive isotope to go away) of carbon-14 is 5730 years, scientists can see how old the object is by how much carbon-14 is left.

Where carbon is

Carbon is in many places in the universe. It was first made in old stars. Carbon is the fourth most common element in the sun. The atmospheres of Venus and Mars are mostly carbon dioxide.

Carbon is important to the human body and other living things, and it is the second most common element in the human body, at 23% of all body weight. It is also a key part of many biological molecules (molecules used in life).

Most of the carbon on Earth is coal. Graphite is in many (typically desert) areas, including Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Russia. Diamonds are rare and are found largely in Africa. Carbon is also in some meteorites.

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