
Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe. Approximately 20% of the mass of a living organism is atomic number 6. Carbon is the second most abundant element in humans, by mass (after oxygen). Carbon has the highest melting point of the pure elements at 3500 ☌ (3773 K, 6332 ☏). In 1772, he burned samples of diamond and charcoal and proved each released the same amount of carbon dioxide per gram. Credit for the discovery of carbon as an element is given to Antoine Lavoisier. The Chinese knew of diamonds as early as 2500 BCE. Primitive man used carbon in the forms of soot and charcoal. Carbon is among the elements known in pure form by ancient mankind. The element symbol for atomic number 6 is C. The element name carbon comes from the Latin word carbo, which means coal. The discovery of the allotrope fullerene won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996. All of the allotropes of carbon are solids at room temperature and pressure. Diamond is transparent, while other forms of carbon are opaque gray or black. For example, diamond is the hardest form of any element, while graphite is very soft, and graphene is stronger than steel. These allotropes exhibit markedly different properties. Pure carbon can take any of several different forms, called allotropes.
A total of 15 isotopes of carbon are known. Carbon-14 is used for radioisotope dating of organic material.
#Facts about carbon element plus
Most of this carbon has 6 neutrons (carbon-12), plus there are small amounts of carbon-13 and carbon-14. The element naturally exists as a mix of three isotopes. Each atom of carbon has 6 protons and electrons.Dave King / Getty Images Element Atomic Number 6 Facts
Forms of pure carbon include diamond, graphite, and amorphous carbon.