Mind Blowing Facts About Carbon Atomic Number!

Carbon is an element that is practically everywhere around us. No matter where you look, there is something that is made of carbon or has carbon in it. So much so that even humans are partially made up of carbon and the plastic, household machines, and clothes that we use are also made of Carbon. Most surprisingly, carbon is also present in the air that we all breathe. We have gathered some astonishing facts about the famous element carbon and carbon atomic number. Keep reading to find some interesting information that will leave you surprised:

What Element Is C?

It is Carbon, the C element, that comes from the Latin word carbo which means coal in English. Carbon is a chemical element that is denoted by the symbol C and it has an atomic number 6. Carbon is tetravalent and nonmetallic.

But, what does it mean by tetravalent?

Well, carbon has four available electrons ready to make covalent chemical bonds. Moreover, Carbon, the element that constitutes about 0.025% of the Earth’s crust, belongs to the 14th group of the periodic table in chemistry. The element also has three naturally occurring isotopes among which 2 are stable and one is unstable. The stable isotopes are 12C and 13C, while the unstable isotope is 14C. 14C is a radionuclide and it has a half-life of up to 5,730 years. Another surprising fact about Carbon is that it is among the list of the very few elements that have been known to man since antiquity.

Another unique property of carbon is that its atoms can bond in multiple ways, thus, creating different allotropes of carbon. Some famous allotropes of carbon are:

• Fullerenes
• Graphite
• Amorphous Carbon
• Diamonds, etc.

The physical characteristics of the element can change depending on the allotrope form under discussion. For instance, diamond, an allotrope of carbon, is highly transparent and graphite, another allotrope of carbon is black and opaque.

Now that we all know what does c stand for on the periodic table, let’s move on:

Atomic Number of Carbon

The atomic number of carbon is 6 and here’s a comprehensive summary of carbon:

Carbon Element Symbol

C is the standard carbon element symbol as it is made of just one kind of atom which also makes carbon an element. The element is also solid when kept at room temperature owing to the fact its atoms are arranged in a regular pattern.

Some Facts About Carbon Atomic Number

• Every single atom of carbon contains 6 electrons and protons. Naturally, three isotopes of carbon can be found and the majority of them have 6 neutrons except for carbon-13 and carbon-14. Carbon-14, which is the unstable isotope of carbon, is used for radioisotope dating of organic material and it is among the total 15 known isotopes of carbon.
• One interesting fact about the allotropes of carbon (discussed above) is that all of them are present in a naturally solid state at room temperature and pressure. The person who discovered the allotrope fullerene was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996.
• Carbon has been used for a diverse array of purposes throughout history. For example, primitive man used the element in the form of charcoal and soot. On the other hand, the Chinese were aware that diamonds existed as early as 2500 BCE.
• The man who discord carbon was Antoine Lavoisier. Moreover, he also performed an extremely important experiment where he burned samples of charcoal and diamond and used his findings to prove that both substances released the same quantity of carbon dioxide per gram (in 1772).
• Lastly, this element gets constantly recycled in one way or another via the Carbon Cycle. In other words, the carbon present in human beings was also once a part of the Earth’s atmosphere.