CARBON
One of the most important chemical elements is carbon – partly because it makes up one-fifth of the human body. It is also the main element in all living things and the sixth most common element in the Universe.
Atoms of carbon can join or bond easily with each other and also with numerous other atoms. This allows carbon to be the basis of a vast variety of substances, from wood to plastics. Indeed carbon is such a common and adaptable element that it has its own branch of science, known as organic chemistry.
The structures and substances in all living things are based on carbon. This includes our own skin, hair, blood, muscles, bones and brain, as well as the body parts of birds, fish, insects and worms, and all the parts of plants. Even the chemicals which form our genes, known as DNA, have carbon as their main element. This is why the chemistry of carbon is often called “the chemistry of life itself”.
Atoms of carbon easily join with a variety of other chemical elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. In different combinations they form substances such as the sugars and starches found in living things.
One of the carbon atoms main features is that it joins to itself in long chains. Oil (crude petroleum) is a complicated mixture of many hundreds of substances like this. They include one carbon atom linked to four hydrogens as the gas methane, and eight carbons in a row forming the gas octane.
Unlike most elements, pure carbon can exist in different forms. If its atoms join as six-sided rings they form the soft, black, slippery powder graphite, used as “lead” in pencils. If they join in a box-like pattern they form the hardest substance of all, diamond.
Atoms of carbon can even join to each other to form necklace-like rings. One type of ring has six carbon atoms. This is known as the benzene ring. If each carbon in the ring is also joined to a hydrogen atom, the result is the substance known as benzene. It is a very important chemical in many industries.
The entire living world is based on carbon. It joins with other substances to form snail shells, spider’s legs, ants’ eggs, plant roots and countless other parts.
Picture Credit : Google
