Carbon

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Carbon

Symbol: C

Atomic number: 6

Average atomic mass: 12

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Nonmetal(Non-metals are not easily able to conduct electricity or heat and do not reflect light . Non-metallic elements are very brittle, and cannot be rolled into wires or pounded into sheets. Non-metallic elements exist, at room temperature, in two of the three states of matter : gases (such as oxygen) and solids (such as carbon)).

Occurrence of the element Carbon in the AtmosphereCarbon compounds form the basis of all life on Earth
Exists freely as graphite and diamond
Obtained from burning with insufficient oxygen
A constituent of coal, limestone, and petroleum

Common Uses of Carbon
Fossil fuels - methane gas
Diamonds
Crude oil (petroleum)
Radiocarbon dating
Smoke detectors
Graphite carbon used as charcoal for cooking & artwork
Gasoline
Kerosene
Carbon monoxide - dioxide
Carbon Fiber

Discovered by
Known since ancient times although not recognised as an element until much later. Carbon was first discovered as charcoal in prehistoric times. The name of the discoverer will probably never be known. The element's name in many languages is derived from the words for charcoal or for coal the English "carbon" is derived from the Latin name for burnt wood (carbo) .
Carbon wasn't recognized as an element until the seventeenth century, after Robert Boyle suggested that an element was a substance that could not be decomposed into simpler substances. Antoine Lavoisier's pioneering chemistry textbook Traité Élémentaire de Chimie, published in Paris in 1789, lists carbon as an "oxidizable and acidifiable nonmetallic element

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