Carbon

Carbon (from Latin: carbo "coal") is a chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. On the periodic table, it is the first (row 2) of six elements in column (group) 14, which have in common the composition of their outer electron shell. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. There are three naturally occurring isotopes, with 12C and 13C being stable, while 14C is radioactive, decaying with a half-life of about 5,730 years. Carbon is one of the few elements known since antiquity.

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 forms of carbon-based life, and in the human body carbon is the second most abundant element by mass (about 18.5%) after oxygen. 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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Caribbean Time

by: Nellie McKay

Caribbean time in motion
Fireflyin' across the ocean
And I can see the future
Caribbean, Caribbean, Caribbean
Caribbean, Caribbean, Caribbean
In the modern potboiler
Anesthetize your mind
And if you won't be a lawyer
You're gonna need an alibi
And if you crave bein' an outlaw
Better to make a plan
For the guns and the promises they feed you
Will drag you in the sand
Nobody come clever enough
Before they get there, move their mainland rough
I'm takin' no direction and I walk-a real slow
For the words of oppression are go, go, go
Caribbean time in motion
Fireflyin' across the ocean
And I can see the future
Barbados to Barcelona
Caribbean time hereunder
I can see the future
Caribbean, Caribbean, Caribbean
Caribbean, Caribbean, Caribbean
If you want a dictator
You best get organized
And if you wan' be a hater
You make trains run on time
And if you crave a good pupil
Bring glory to the schools
And mind your Qs and Ps 'cause an island breeze
Is breakin' all the rules
Caribbean time in motion
Fireflyin' across the ocean
And I can see the future
Antigua to Macedonia
Darwinian time is over
I can see the future
It's no military time
It's an island time
Nobody come clever enough
Before they get there, move their mainland rough
I'm takin' no direction and I walk-a real slow
For the words of oppression are go, go, go
Caribbean time in motion
Fireflyin' across the ocean
And I can see the future
Barbados to Barcelona
Caribbean time hereunder
I can see the future
Caribbean, Caribbean
Caribbean, Caribbean, Caribbean
Caribbean, Caribbean, Caribbean
Caribbean, Caribbean, Caribbean
Caribbean, Caribbean, Caribbean
It's no military time




Latest News for: carbon atom

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Berkeley Lab creates new molecule that could point the way to safe disposal of nuclear waste

East Bay Times 25 Mar 2025
The new molecular structure is, in the nomenclature of researchers, a “sandwich.” In this formation, a berkelium atom, serving as the filling, lays in between two 8-membered carbon rings — the “bread” — and resembles an atomic foot-long sub.
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Curiosity finds largest-ever organic molecules on Mars

Popular Science 25 Mar 2025
trace amounts of three carbon-chain ... Depending on the molecule, organic life fatty acids often contain chains of 11-13 carbon atoms, while non-biological fatty acids usually contain 12 or fewer carbons.
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What’s the beef between tallow and seed oils?

CNN 25 Mar 2025
Saturated fats have a single bond between the carbon atoms in their chains, whereas polyunsaturated fats have one or more double bonds — making them less stable and prone to faster peroxidation when exposed to oxygen or when cooked, according to Dr.
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Curiosity Finds Record-Breaking Organic Molecules On Mars Possibly Formed From Fatty Acids

IFL Science 24 Mar 2025
In that time SAM has revealed the presence of organic molecules with up to six carbon atoms, including some that contain chlorine or sulfur ... Heat can convert these fatty acids to alkanes with one fewer carbon atom.
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Nasa rover discovers largest organic compounds yet found on Mars

AOL 24 Mar 2025
When organisms on Earth make fatty acids, the compounds tend to contain more even numbers than odd numbers of carbon atoms. This is because some enzymes build fatty acids by adding two carbon atoms at a time.
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Organic molecules of unprecedented size discovered on Mars

Phys Dot Org 24 Mar 2025
These long carbon chains, containing up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms, ...
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Electrochemical process that uses carbon dioxide to produce oxygen could be used in space

Phys Dot Org 24 Mar 2025
To mitigate global climate change, emissions of the primary culprit, >carbon dioxide, must be drastically reduced ... CO2 is directly split electrochemically into carbon and oxygen ... Leafy plants are masters of the art of carbon neutrality.
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High-precision quantum gates with diamond spin qubits achieve error rate below 0.1%

Phys Dot Org 24 Mar 2025
These qubits consist of electron and nuclear spins associated with atomic defects, for example, a nitrogen atom replacing a carbon atom in a diamond.
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US scientists create jet fuel from sunlight making carbon-free aviation reality

Interesting Engineering 24 Mar 2025
The Caltech team demonstrated that their solar-powered reactor could take ethylene, a two-carbon molecule, and turn it into alkenes with seven to 26 carbon atoms—the exact range in conventional jet fuel.
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Largest organic compounds ever found on Mars, hope rises for ancient life

Interesting Engineering 24 Mar 2025
On deeper analysis, the scientists discovered that Martian organics made fatty acids by adding two carbon atoms at a time, just like organisms on Earth. “The one in the middle with 12 carbons is more abundant than the other two.
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Scientists find unusual gas on exoplanets, could be the biggest clue in alien hunt

Interesting Engineering 24 Mar 2025
Methyl halides are gases of a methyl group, which bears a carbon and three hydrogen atoms bonded to a halogen atom such as chlorine or bromine. On Earth, they are mainly produced by bacteria, marine algae, fungi, and certain plants ... .
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Life on Mars? Scientists discover organic molecules of 'unprecedented size' on the Red Planet | ...

The Daily Mail 24 Mar 2025
Experts have found long carbon chains, containing up to 12 consecutive atoms, in samples of Martian rock which date back billions of years ... Samples were collected by drilling into Martian rock (pictured with superimposed carbon molecules) ... THE BASICS ... .
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Strong infrared signals could reveal alien life on "waterworld" planets

New Atlas 23 Mar 2025
Now, we’re a step closer to that boring but groundbreaking day ... It’s a group of gases called methyl halides, which are made up of a carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms bound to a halogen atom ... Less time with the telescope means it’s less expensive.” ... .
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The butterfly effect: A misaligned experiment accidentally unfolds quantum wings

Interesting Engineering 21 Mar 2025
The discovery was made possible by recent developments in materials science, where scientists are able to stack and twist extremely thin layers of carbon atoms — known as graphene — into specific structures.
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US chemist taps billion-year-old chemistry to produce fossil fuel alternatives

Interesting Engineering 20 Mar 2025
During the early evolution of life, cells started transferring electrons from one atom to another. This helped them build carbon and nitrogen-containing compounds ... enzymes with clusters of metal atoms.

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