Carbon

Carbon is one of the most important elements. All living creatures have carbon in them, and the industry uses carbon in many ways.

The element's chemical symbol is C. Its atomic number is 6, and it has a mass of 12, but there are other isotopes of carbon too.

Carbon atoms like to form bonds with other atoms. They can link together with other elements and form very long chains.

A lot of carbon on Earth is found together with other elements. Carbon dioxide is in the air that we breathe out. Minerals, like limestone, have carbon in them. Mixtures of carbon and hydrogen are in petroleum and natural gas.

Pure carbon does not occur very often on Earth. The best known forms of pure carbon are diamonds and graphite. Diamonds are the hardest objects on Earth. They are in the Earth’s crust, formed under high temperatures and pressure. Most of them are used in industry—to cut or polish other objects or as drilling heads in oil fields. Graphite is a soft grey or black mineral. Like diamonds, graphite is formed under the surface of the Earth. It is used in pencils and, because it is lightweight, you can find it in spaceships, tennis rackets and bicycles.

Diamonds are made out of pure carbon
Image: Jerry Cone, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons