Carbon

Mary | Sep 19, 2010 |

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Carbon is one of the most common elements on the planet. It can be found in all living or once living organisms. Every living thing starts out with a certain amount of carbon in it, and when it dies and begins to decay the carbon slowly disappears. Carbon is indentified by the symbol C on the periodic table.

Carbon is a greenhouse gas, and is a major culprit of global warming. It helps to trap the heat of the sun in the atmosphere of the planet. This helps to warm the planet and enables life on Earth to exist. Global warming, or climate change, is an environmental change that is caused by the buildup of carbon in the atmosphere. It is considered to be a man made event and people are encouraged to become more environmentally friendly in order to slow down this event.

All fossil fuels contain carbon. Oil and coal are two primary types of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are created when plants or animals die, and are used in many modern forms of energy production. Oil (petroleum) is created by animals while coal is created by plant material.

Coal begins as plants, becomes peat, turns to coal, and when conditions are just right can become diamonds. The majority of diamonds come from Africa but they are also mined in Brazil, Russia, and Australia.

Any discussion of carbon would not be complete without a description of just how vital it is to life on Earth. Carbon dioxide is necessary for plants to live they take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, which means that animals can exist. Without this cycle life on Earth could not exist. This is a very basic description of the carbon cycle. Things are always more complicated than they first appear.

Carbon is a modest but versatile element. It powers industry, enables life to exist, can be deadly in certain forms, and is an accurate historical record keeper.