CARBON

Carbon

When one thinks of life, they must remember to acknowledge the carbon element because its compounds are essential to vitality, as we know it. Carbon is the sixth most abundant element in the universe. It makes up 0.32% of the earths crust. While the origin or founder is unknown, carbon dates back to the prehistoric times, but scientists did not discover the three different types of carbon until the 1700’s. The individual most responsible for putting this element to use is Dmitri Mendleev, in the 1860’s, when he organized the periodic table of elements. All the elements were arranged from lightest to heaviest in respect to carbon. Because carbon makes up millions of compounds, there is a special section in chemistry called organic chemistry devoted especially to the compounds formed by carbon and hydrogen. Besides being the basis of all life in living things, carbon is also used for one’s everyday purposes. We rarely realized the chemistry involved in our day-to-day exis...