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( Carbon)
15 There are several allotropes of carbon of which the best known are graphite, diamond, and amorphous carbon.[10] The physical properties of carbon vary widely with the allotropic form. For example, diamond is highly transparent, while graphite is opaque and black. Diamond is among the hardest materials known, while graphite is soft enough to form a streak on paper. Diamond has a very low electric conductivity, while graphite is a very good conductor. Under normal conditions, diamond has the highest thermal conductivity of all known materials. All the allotropic forms are solids under normal conditions but graphite is the most thermodynamically stable. All forms of carbon are highly stable, requiring high temperature to react even with oxygen. The most common oxidation state of carbon in inorganic compounds is +4, while +2 is found in carbon monoxide and other transition metal carbonyl complexes. The largest sources of inorganic carbon are limestones, dolomites and carbon dioxide, but significant quantities occur in organic deposits of coal, peat, oil and methane clathrates. Carbon forms more compounds than any other element, with almost ten million pure organic compounds described to date, which in turn are a tiny fraction of such compounds that are theoretically possible under standard conditions.[11] Carbon is 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.[12] This abundance, together with the unique diversity of organic compounds and their unusual polymer-forming ability at the temperatures commonly encountered on Earth, make this element the chemical basis of all known life.
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Carbon Subcategories
Carbon Articles
Calcium Citrate by Brian Balster
Not all calcium supplements are alike. Some contain cheap, ineffective calcium, which does little good for the body because it's in the wrong form. Other supplements contain the premier form of calcium, known as calcium citrate, which is easily...
The Power Of Learning To Breathe Properly by Dr Edward Steiner
Did you know that breathing is the only essential bodily function performed unconsciously, that you can control consciously? Your body can go without food for months, water for weeks and yet your body can't go without oxygen for more than a few...
What You Need To Know About Water by Dr Edward Steiner
What makes up 70-80% of our planet? Water. What makes up 70-80% of our body? That's right, water.
Water is the single most important nutrient you will give your body apart from oxygen. Water rejuvenates us and carries vital nutrients al...
Why Antioxidants Aren't Enough by Paul Wand, M.D.
LE Magazine January 2002
Paul Wand, M.D. Why Antioxidants Aren't Enough
Every second, a destructive process called “glycation” occurs throughout the body. Glycation can be described as the binding of a protein m...
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