Everything Matters: Carbon

Come be in your elements with Exploratorium host Ron Hipschman. Follow tales of intrigue and invention, join in dynamic demonstrations, and uncover fascinating connections between individual elements and our collective human experience.

From the moment of its discovery, each element embarks on a journey into our culture. -Hugh Aldersey-Williams, Periodic Tales

Hail carbon, the sovereign element responsible for a kingdom of atomic riches, including all of life on Earth. The fourth most abundant element in the universe, carbon emerges from inside of stars, and forms powerful bonds with itself and other elements to create an endless variety of chemistry. It cycles between oceans, atmosphere, animals, plants, soil, rocks, and fossil deposits deep below ground, and regulates global temperatures as the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

A girl's best friend, pure carbon hardens into diamonds, and can also smear into soot or slippery graphite. While carbon has been known as charcoal or diamonds for thousands of years, new forms are still being found, such as fullerenes (think buckyballs and nanotubes), and the more recently discovered graphene-a single layer of hexagonally bonded carbon atoms first separated from graphite with adhesive tape. Incredibly light, strong, and effective at conducting heat and electricity, graphene is poised to transform a number of technologies, including bioengineering and nanotechnology.