Carbon | Properties | Uses | and Facts - Elements and Compounds

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Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Carbon | Properties | Uses | and Facts

Properties Uses and Facts about Carbon


    What is Carbon

    Carbon is classified as a nonmetal, and chemically it is an element.  The symbol for carbon is C, and its atomic number is 6 and its atomic weight is 12.0107 amu. There are 6 electrons, 6 protons, 6 neutrons and 2 energy levels in a carbon atom. Carbon is located in Group 14, Period 2 and Block P in the Periodic Table. Carbon is found in the solid state at room temperature, its melting point is 3550 °C (6422 °F), and its boiling point is 4827 °C (8721 °F). Different allotropes of carbon have different densities, such as diamond has a density of 3.51 grams per cubic centimeter, and graphite has a density of 2.26 grams per cubic centimeter.

    Carbon has been used for thousands of years, so it is unknown who discovered it.
    What-is-Carbon, Properties-of-Carbon, uses-of-Carbon, details-on-Carbon, facts-about-Carbon, Carbon-characteristics, Carbon,
    Carbon Properties Uses and Facts

    Properties of Carbon

    • Carbon atoms have the property of joining together to form long and strong chains.
    • Carbon has many different forms (allotropes) depending on the structure, such as diamond, graphite and fullerenes.
    • The physical properties of all forms of carbon are also different, like diamond is found in many colors, it is transparent and the hardest substance. Graphite is an opaque, black, and soft substance, while fullerenes appear as black or dark brown powders, like coal.
    • Carbon has the highest melting point among all the elements.
    • All forms of carbon (Allotropes) on excessive heating directly convert from solid state to gaseous state without becoming liquid.
    • Graphite is a good conductor of electricity, while diamond is a poor conductor of electricity.
    • Diamond has the highest thermal conductivity of all elements, the thermal conductivity of diamond is five times more than that of silver.
    • Carbon is chemically less reactive than other elements, so it is usually found in pure form in nature. Carbon reacts with other elements only at high temperature, high pressure and under special conditions.

    Uses of Carbon

    • The largest use of carbon is in the form of coke in the production of steel.
    • All hydrocarbon fuels, coal, oil and natural gas are compounds of carbon that are used as fuels.
    • Carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon with a half-life of 5370 years, is used in radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dating is used to determine the age of living things in the past.
    • Carbon is used to make a variety of products such as polymers, rubber, plastics, fibers, inks, and paints.
    • Carbon is used to make the core of a dry cell battery.
    • Carbon fiber is a product of carbon itself. This material is lighter in weight and many times stronger than steel, it is used in rockets, aeroplanes, fast sports cars etc.
    • Diamond is the most precious gemstone and it is the hardest of all known substances, it is used in jewelry and in cutting tools.
    • Graphite is used as a dry lubricant.
    • Graphite is used in pencil
    • Millions of compounds of carbon are found, which can be used innumerable.

    Interesting Facts about Carbon

    • Carbon is the sixth most abundant element in the universe.
    • Carbon is the seventeenth most abundant element in the earth's crust.
    • Carbon is an essential element for life and carbon is found in all animals and plants.
    • Commercially used synthetic diamonds are produced by treating graphite at high temperature and high pressure for several weeks, these diamonds are used in diamond tipped cutting tools.
    • Of all the elements, most compounds of carbon are found. There are more than one million known compounds of carbon, and the number is increasing rapidly every year, to the study of which a whole branch of chemistry has been devoted, known as organic chemistry.
    • Carbon is formed during nuclear fusion in massive stars.


    Detailed Information on Some other Elements


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