Just to be more clear where it is settled and the situation of the empire here is this overview.
So here is the Carbon facts.
Carbon
This element is so important that there is a part of chemistry made for it. I could writte a book about this. But im not going to do, ill try to summarize why is so important. This is the part of the chemistry i enjoyed most and i am specialized in (Organic chemistry)
This element is not as abundant as we might think knowing all the life it allows, the oxigen is the most abundant element in our body, and the amount on the earth is not even a 1%. But its the forth most abundant of the universe.
There is 2 inorganic solid allotropes of Carbon, Graphite (one of the softest substances on earth) and Diamond (the hardest substance in the world, including both natural and artificial).
Its interesting that diamond is only stable on high pressure and high tempereratures so every diamond on low temperatures and pressures are trying to change its shape towards graphite but the speed of this transition is really slow, since it needs to change really strong bonds in solid state.
There is several important inorganic compounds of carbon in the earth.
+Carbon dioxide, right now a bit demonized because of the Global Warming, i mean with this that this molecule is important although the humankind is polluting the air with it, and thats a fact. With carbon dioxide we can make methane, as i said on the first chemistry facts. But the most important thing is that this molecule is allowing us to eat, plants convert this molecule into glucose and that into proteins and lipids. Some animals eat those plants to get those nutrients and some other animals eat the animals that eat those plants. So basically CO2 is key for the life we know.
+Carbonates, this compouds are really important, they are they key compounds of limestones, marble, dolomite... Several of the ore of metals are carbonates.
+Carbon monoxide, really toxic gas, it can get so strongly bonded to Hemoglobine that the Oxigen is unable to get into the Hemoglobine, so that can kill anyone. It is oddorless and colorless so several people has died with it. Its several times called the sweet death, since you "fall sleep" "too deep". no pain at all. Its obtained by combustion without much oxigen, so if you are on a jam on a tunnel, try to switch off engines and go to an airy place.
+The carborundum is such a nice compound (silicon carbide) it is almost as hard as diamond, but with one propieerty really nice. It is stable. If you use diamond to cut things on a factory, it will heat with the friction and will become graphite really fast, so you are wasting soooo much money. Same if you try to make brakes of a F1 car out of diamond, they will make just 1 turn hehehe. And the graphite is a solid lubricat, so really, the driver would be done. The carborundum is stable to high temperatures too, so they are really good as substitute of diamond. It has more propierties such as semiconductivity, making some LEDs out of it.
Research is really important on this element, it has been discovered so many useful materials such as graphene (one sheet of graphite with 1 atom width), fullerene, nanotubes, etc.
There is also the organic chemistry of this element, which is even larger. All the petrol derivates, all the plants animals etc.... Just books of compounds with different purposes. Right now this compounds are used for 2 purposes, first getting energy out of the combustion of this fuels. And the second one making plastics and its derivates. This is too much sumarize but really, i can spend years talking about this.
And so you can understand, if we use the petrol used to make the fuel of 10 years we would get petrol enough to make everything we use out of it but fuels for 100 years, so right now petrol is more or less used 90% fuels and 10% the rest. Please dont think plastic is just bags and envelops... pretty much all the fabric is made out of plastics right now (but cotton and wool pretty much all is plastic)
So if you tell me to do experiments with carbon... there is tons with carbon derivates, but one of my favourites is:
Put some bicarbonate (baking soda is based in this) in a glass, then you put some citric acid (its the easiest solid with acid behaviur) and then mixture well, you wont see any happening, since there is no reaction without water. (He hecho muchas veces este experimento yendo a institutos y siempre les contaba la misma broma, "a los químicos nos encanta echar polvos" mientras vertía los sólidos en el vaso, no se si en Chile echar polvos tiene el mismo significado que en España, pero basicamente significa follar, o coger como se dice allí. Se reían mucho los chicos generalmente, yo me hacía el sorprendido)
So then you put some water and a huge reaction will happen, and this reaction is interesting for several things, first is an Acid-Basic reaction, second, its endothermic, which means that the solution gets colder since it absorbs the heat of the enviroment. There is not many cheap harmless reactions that are endothermic. Also its the same reaction that happens with the "Acid rain" that disolves rocks and buildings, the product of this reaction is carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide is also nice to see with a candle or any other fire, just putting close the reaction it gets extinguished beacause the amount of CO2 will move away locally the oxigen so it cannot keep burning. Indeed, if you try to pour the gass out of the glass (like if it were a liquid but without spilling the liquid out) the CO2 will fall because of density and extinguish the fire. So basically it can be used this reaction for so many things. I hope i explained well enough. Otherwise tell me and ill try again!
So here is the Carbon facts.
Carbon
This element is so important that there is a part of chemistry made for it. I could writte a book about this. But im not going to do, ill try to summarize why is so important. This is the part of the chemistry i enjoyed most and i am specialized in (Organic chemistry)
This element is not as abundant as we might think knowing all the life it allows, the oxigen is the most abundant element in our body, and the amount on the earth is not even a 1%. But its the forth most abundant of the universe.
There is 2 inorganic solid allotropes of Carbon, Graphite (one of the softest substances on earth) and Diamond (the hardest substance in the world, including both natural and artificial).
Its interesting that diamond is only stable on high pressure and high tempereratures so every diamond on low temperatures and pressures are trying to change its shape towards graphite but the speed of this transition is really slow, since it needs to change really strong bonds in solid state.
There is several important inorganic compounds of carbon in the earth.
+Carbon dioxide, right now a bit demonized because of the Global Warming, i mean with this that this molecule is important although the humankind is polluting the air with it, and thats a fact. With carbon dioxide we can make methane, as i said on the first chemistry facts. But the most important thing is that this molecule is allowing us to eat, plants convert this molecule into glucose and that into proteins and lipids. Some animals eat those plants to get those nutrients and some other animals eat the animals that eat those plants. So basically CO2 is key for the life we know.
+Carbonates, this compouds are really important, they are they key compounds of limestones, marble, dolomite... Several of the ore of metals are carbonates.
+Carbon monoxide, really toxic gas, it can get so strongly bonded to Hemoglobine that the Oxigen is unable to get into the Hemoglobine, so that can kill anyone. It is oddorless and colorless so several people has died with it. Its several times called the sweet death, since you "fall sleep" "too deep". no pain at all. Its obtained by combustion without much oxigen, so if you are on a jam on a tunnel, try to switch off engines and go to an airy place.
+The carborundum is such a nice compound (silicon carbide) it is almost as hard as diamond, but with one propieerty really nice. It is stable. If you use diamond to cut things on a factory, it will heat with the friction and will become graphite really fast, so you are wasting soooo much money. Same if you try to make brakes of a F1 car out of diamond, they will make just 1 turn hehehe. And the graphite is a solid lubricat, so really, the driver would be done. The carborundum is stable to high temperatures too, so they are really good as substitute of diamond. It has more propierties such as semiconductivity, making some LEDs out of it.
Research is really important on this element, it has been discovered so many useful materials such as graphene (one sheet of graphite with 1 atom width), fullerene, nanotubes, etc.
There is also the organic chemistry of this element, which is even larger. All the petrol derivates, all the plants animals etc.... Just books of compounds with different purposes. Right now this compounds are used for 2 purposes, first getting energy out of the combustion of this fuels. And the second one making plastics and its derivates. This is too much sumarize but really, i can spend years talking about this.
And so you can understand, if we use the petrol used to make the fuel of 10 years we would get petrol enough to make everything we use out of it but fuels for 100 years, so right now petrol is more or less used 90% fuels and 10% the rest. Please dont think plastic is just bags and envelops... pretty much all the fabric is made out of plastics right now (but cotton and wool pretty much all is plastic)
So if you tell me to do experiments with carbon... there is tons with carbon derivates, but one of my favourites is:
Put some bicarbonate (baking soda is based in this) in a glass, then you put some citric acid (its the easiest solid with acid behaviur) and then mixture well, you wont see any happening, since there is no reaction without water. (He hecho muchas veces este experimento yendo a institutos y siempre les contaba la misma broma, "a los químicos nos encanta echar polvos" mientras vertía los sólidos en el vaso, no se si en Chile echar polvos tiene el mismo significado que en España, pero basicamente significa follar, o coger como se dice allí. Se reían mucho los chicos generalmente, yo me hacía el sorprendido)
So then you put some water and a huge reaction will happen, and this reaction is interesting for several things, first is an Acid-Basic reaction, second, its endothermic, which means that the solution gets colder since it absorbs the heat of the enviroment. There is not many cheap harmless reactions that are endothermic. Also its the same reaction that happens with the "Acid rain" that disolves rocks and buildings, the product of this reaction is carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide is also nice to see with a candle or any other fire, just putting close the reaction it gets extinguished beacause the amount of CO2 will move away locally the oxigen so it cannot keep burning. Indeed, if you try to pour the gass out of the glass (like if it were a liquid but without spilling the liquid out) the CO2 will fall because of density and extinguish the fire. So basically it can be used this reaction for so many things. I hope i explained well enough. Otherwise tell me and ill try again!
. Death to Mjmd! Try to get 2 chops into Carbon before the box is half full.
