Carbon where is it found in nature

I n the rubber industry, the major applications for carbon blacks are in the printing ink, paint, pencils, paper, and plastic industries.

Minor amounts are used in the manufacture of dry cells, carbon brushes, and insulation. The largest single application for gas phase activated carbons is in the recovery of volatile organic solvents from air or vapor mixtures.

Another large application is in the purification and separation of natural and industrial gases. Main applications for manufactured graphite are found as components for rockets, missiles, and other aerospace vehicles.

Carbon is the basis of all life as part of the DNA molecule. There are more than a million known carbon compounds, many thousands of which are vital to organic and life processes. No toxic effects appear to be associated with carbon in its elemental form.

On the other hand, many of the more common carbon compounds exhibit strong toxicological effects. Principal among these are carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, alkali cyanide, carbon tetrachloride, and carbon disulfide. Carbon monoxide, an odorless gas, is extremely toxic, behaving as an asphyxiate.

Compared to oxygen, it is not only more readily absorbed, but also more firmly bound by the hemoglobin of the blood. The capacity of the blood to carry oxygen to the vital parts of the body is thereby reduced, leading to brain damage, heart disease and pneumonia. Carbon dioxide is less toxic and behaves chiefly as a simple asphyxiate and narcotic.

Hydrogen cyanide and the alkali cyanides are extremely toxic, functioning as protoplasmic poisons by inhibiting tissue oxidation. Carbon is the foundation of all life on Earth, required to form complex molecules like proteins and DNA.

This element is also found in our atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide CO2. The carbon cycle describes the process in which carbon atoms continually travel from the atmosphere to the Earth and then back into the atmosphere. Since our planet and its atmosphere form a closed environment, the amount of carbon in this system does not change.

Where the carbon is located — in the atmosphere or on Earth — is constantly in flux. On Earth, most carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, while the rest is located in the ocean, atmosphere, and in living organisms.

These are the reservoirs, or sinks, through which carbon cycles. After a very long time and carbon is left in a very high pressure area, all of the atoms are pushed together to form a crystal.

That crystal is called a diamond. Charcoal The next time your family goes to a barbecue you'll know that the main ingredient of the charcoal is carbon. Carbon compounds store lots of energy and is good at holding onto heat. That's why it's used for charcoal. Graphite Take a look at your pencil. Very little is known about this form of carbon.

Large molecules consisting only of carbon, known as buckminsterfullerenes, or buckyballs, have recently been discovered and are currently the subject of much scientific interest. A single buckyball consists of 60 or 70 carbon atoms C 60 or C 70 linked together in a structure that looks like a soccer ball. They can trap other atoms within their framework, appear to be capable of withstanding great pressures and have magnetic and superconductive properties.

Carbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon with a half-life of 5, years, is used to find the age of formerly living things through a process known as radiocarbon dating. The theory behind carbon dating is fairly simple. Scientists know that a small amount of naturally occurring carbon is carbon Although carbon decays into nitrogen through beta decay , the amount of carbon in the environment remains constant because new carbon is always being created in the upper atmosphere by cosmic rays.

Living things tend to ingest materials that contain carbon, so the percentage of carbon within living things is the same as the percentage of carbon in the environment. Once an organism dies, it no longer ingests much of anything. The carbon within that organism is no longer replaced and the percentage of carbon begins to decrease as it decays. By measuring the percentage of carbon in the remains of an organism, and by assuming that the natural abundance of carbon has remained constant over time, scientists can estimate when that organism died.