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importance of carbon?

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. It is a member of group 14 on the periodic table. The name "carbon" comes from Latin language carbo, coal.    Carbon is Non-metallic,Tetravalent, has three naturally occurring isotopes ( 12C and 13C is stable, 14C is radioactive) has many allotropes of which the best known are graphite, diamond, and amorphous carbon.

Carbon is the 15th most abundant element in the Earth's crust, and the fourth most abundant element in the universe by mass after hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. It is present in all known lifeforms, and in the human body carbon is the second most abundant element by mass (about 18.5%) after oxygen. This abundance, along with the unique diversity of organic compounds and their unusual catenation ability at the temperatures commonly encountered on Earth, make this element the chemical basis of all known life.

Formation of the carbon atomic nucleus requires a nearly simultaneous triple collision of alpha particles (helium nuclei) within the core of a giant or supergiant star. This happens in conditions of > 100 megakelvin temperature and helium concentration that the rapid expansion and cooling of the early universe prohibited, and therefore no significant carbon was created during the Big Bang.


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