Carbon is unique among the elements in the vast number and variety of compounds it can form. An abundant nonmetallic, tetravalent element, carbon has several allotropic forms: diamonds (hardest known mineral). Modern carbon chemistry dates from the development of coals, petroleum, and natural gas as fuels and from the elucidation of synthetic organic chemistry, both substantially developed since the 1800s. Furthermore, through some obscure references to the work of Svante Arrhenius, some people have been persuaded that the Earth is getting hotter and hotter, owing to the presence of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere, even though it is only a trace gas at 0.04{154653b9ea5f83bbbf00f55de12e21cba2da5b4b158a426ee0e27ae0c1b44117} of the whole. It is called cognitive dissonance. Had these Warmists concentrated on Water Vapour then indeed they might have had a case, since it is clearly observable that in a hot dry climate there is an abrupt decline in temperature when the sun goes down, whereas in a muggy damp atmosphere the temperature declines slowly. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX. Now since we all know from experience that heat flows by itself from hot to cold – which is the second law of Thermodynamics – and which has just been impressed on me again as my wife just prepared a hot supper, urging me to get to the table in time, the very idea that these tiny molecules become a barrier high up in the atmosphere to cause warming is just a ridiculous conclusion. – Heat flows from hot to cold. In addition to its uses in making inks and paints, carbon black is added to the rubber used in tires to improve its wearing qualities. There is little difference in latitude and altutude between the two cities. And yes one of these observed facts are clouds. Carbon (from Latin: carbo "coal") is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. Elemental carbon exists in several forms, each of which has its own physical characteristics. So, I have no idea that anyone has actually read about the observed facts that are reviewed. The following products result: (1) diamond proper—distorted cubic crystalline gem-quality stones varying from colourless to red, pink, blue, green, or yellow; (2) bort—minute dark crystals of abrasive but not gem quality; (3) ballas—randomly oriented crystals of abrasive quality; (4) macles—triangular pillow-shaped crystals that are industrially useful; and (5) carbonado—mixed diamond–graphite crystallites containing other impurities. I shall tell you. (Scattering is NOT absorption.) Spheroidal, closed-cage fullerenes are called buckerminsterfullerenes, or “buckyballs,” and cylindrical fullerenes are called nanotubes. If I am trying to communicate with you in the dark with a flashlight using Morse code, a bank of bright flashing lights behind me would make it difficult for you to decipher my message (signal). While is did proofread this comment and corrected several mistakes I missed that ‘briefs’ in the first sentence should have been ‘beliefs’. It is the fourth most abundant element in the universe, and it plays a crucial role in the health and stability of the planet through the carbon cycle. But, Water Vapor at a disperson of 0-4% of the Atmosphere is ALSO TERMED AS A GREENHOUSE GAS. Carbon stars are stars whose atmosphere has more carbon than oxygen. A natural sequence of chemical reactions called the carbon cycle—involving conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide to carbohydrates by photosynthesis in plants, the consumption of these carbohydrates by animals and oxidation of them through metabolism to produce carbon dioxide and other products, and the return of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere—is one of the most important of all biological processes. Before the discovery in 1779 that graphite when burned in air forms carbon dioxide, graphite was confused with both the metal lead and a superficially similar substance, the mineral molybdenite. Carbon is an interesting element because of all the deiiferent shapes it can formwhen it bonds to … Carbon is a naturally abundant nonmetallic element which forms the basis of most living organisms. All the trash that is trumpeted about emissions of Carbon Dioxide is just that – trash! Atomic number, 6; atomic weight, 12.011. Note that this may not be a steady-state case — I just bring it up as an understandable example. Graphite is simply a form of solid carbon. September 38/24 28/17 Carbon in the form of coal is an important fuel While there is no truth, only briefs; there are observed facts which cannot be debated. That was carbon. Hence .. no back radiation can exist to warm the earth. Fullerene was serendipitously discovered in 1985 as a synthetic product in the course of laboratory experiments to simulate the chemistry in the atmosphere of giant stars. . Don't worry about the last one really. So there is no doubt about it at all. Until 1955 all diamonds were obtained from natural deposits, most significant in southern Africa but occurring also in Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, and Siberia. Each element has a unique number of protons in its atom. For they had observed the fact that air temperatures could vary by degrees over a short time span in such a natural laboratory. So your quantitative argument is fundamentally flawed from the beginning. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. With hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements, it forms a very large number of compounds, carbon atom often being linked to another carbon atom. Here are two questions. In 1787, four French chemists wrote a book outlining a method for naming chemical substances. It is evident the designers focused upon the air temperatures because of the tradition that air temperature had been from the beginning been accepted as a proxy for the earth’s surface temperature in the S-B radiation law. With hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements, it forms a very large number of compounds, carbon atom often being linked to carbon atom. Liquid water is more than 1000 times as dense as the atmosphere. Carbon, an element of prehistoric discovery, is very widely distributed in nature. The volatile by-products are recovered and used separately. Two of its well-defined forms, diamond and graphite, are crystalline in structure, but they differ in physical properties because the arrangements of the atoms in their structures are dissimilar. This surely must have been one of the most colossal mistakes ever perpetrated on the human race. The word carbon probably derives from the Latin carbo, meaning variously “coal,” “charcoal,” “ember.” The term diamond, a corruption of the Greek word adamas, “the invincible,” aptly describes the permanence of this crystallized form of carbon, just as graphite, the name for the other crystal form of carbon, derived from the Greek verb graphein, “to write,” reflects its property of leaving a dark mark when rubbed on a surface. With air about 1/1000 the density of water, a few ppm of absorptive molecules, such as H2O and CO2, in air provide significant attenuation in just a few tens of meters. The fourth most abundant element in the Universe after Hydrogen, Helium and Oxygen! Clean Energy – What is it and what are we paying for? For example, air at 30C and 80% relative humidity (typical for Atlanta in the summer) has a moist enthalpy of 85.8 kJ/kg (relative to dry air at 0C). You believe I do not know that scattering is not absorption? Coke and charcoal are nearly pure carbon.) various others) I can direct you to several 100 pie charts of atmospheric content where not one mentions Water Vapor!! A few ppm of absorptive molecules in water provide significant attenuation in just a few tens of millimeters. Now add food coloring a drop at a time. The atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons in each atom, and defines the element. Graphite, on the other hand, is a soft slippery solid that is a good conductor of both heat and electricity. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/science/carbon-chemical-element, h2g2 - Carbon and its Inorganic Compounds, carbon - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), carbon - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The successful laboratory conversion of graphite to diamond was made in 1955. And I believe your essay deserves more comments than they have received. Because it conducts electricity but does not melt, graphite is also used for electrodes in electric furnaces and dry cells as well as for making crucibles in which metals are melted. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Binding structure: 4 electrons in 3-dimensional so-called sp3-orbitals There is no way that the Warmists could blame clouds, as the IPCC simply does not ‘do’ clouds. It is not an opinion. When Feynman (and others) talk about induced or stimulated emission, they are talking about phenomena such as fluorescence, which are not relevant here. It … So maybe this comment will be read by more than there is evidence that my previous essays have. Because the water vapor content is so variable, the percentages of the other gases are customarily given for “dry air” — no water vapor content. I should have relied on the climate description for each city. Their reasoning is puerile. Graphite cannot be melted but can be sublimed at 3,650°C and in any form, Carbon is a solid at room temperature. #l: How is C02 dispersed globally and equally important, at what altitudes. Principia Scientific International (PSI) is a not-for-profit community interest association. The answer is simple – you have it in one. Humidity is not the same as relative humidity. Carbon is the element. Atomic form of carbon is very short lived and readily stabilizes in multi-atomic configurations. Telephone: Calls from within the UK: 020 7419 5027. International dialling: (44) 20 7419 5027. Atlanta is partly cloudy year round. Close to finishing a piece that disputes Chaos in the I.P.C.C definiton of climate, the improper mechanical use of Greenhouse and Water Vapor vs C02. (Coals are elemental carbon mixed with varying amounts of carbon compounds. C02 @ .04% with CH4 @ .00018 – .04018 total. Anyone can look it up, as I just have. However, another fact is that the designers of the USCRN natural laboratories also boldly placed it an instrument claimed to be capable of measuring surface temperatures. Hence, the maximum possible downwelling IR at Atlanta is limited by its surface’s lower temperatures even if the water vapor content of its atmosphere might be greater. Carbon, the sixth most abundant element in the universe, has been known since ancient times. However, no one could, or can, directly see that cloud scatters some portion of the invisible infrared IR radiation being emitted from the surface (because of the surface’s temperature) back toward the surface. This means carbon is an element. At high temperatures carbon binds with oxygen to form carbon monoxide (CO) or dioxide (CO2). Although widely distributed in nature, carbon is not particularly plentiful—it makes up only about 0.025 percent of Earth’s crust—yet it forms more compounds than all the other elements combined. Is that a fact? Then why would any CO2 that absorbs IR; which is then thermalized; and re-radiated at other wavelengths; not be “jammed” by the stronger outgoing IR from earth? ‘COVID-19: The Politics of a Pandemic Moral Panic’ – Book Excerpt, Researchers: people irrationally reject anti-lockdown findings, Israeli Scientists Prove Trump Correct on UV Light Killing COVID19, ‘This Is Not a Vaccine, it Is Irreversible Genetic Modification’ say Doctor, Coronavirus – A perspective from Britain Part 18, Solar flare in 774 AD changed Earth’s atmospheric chemistry, Science That Doesn’t Add Up: A Discussion Paper, Professor Dolores Cahill: People Will Start Dying After COVID Vaccine, Greenhouse Gas? Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe and typically the fourth most abundant element in stars. Every carbon atom is covalently bonded at the four corners of the tetrahedron to four other carbon atoms. I was under the impression clouds had a warming effect at night. The name they used, carbone, is based on the earlier Latin term for charcoal, charbon. The distance between carbon atoms along the bond is 1.54 × â€¦ However, carbon compounds (i.e., carbonates of magnesium and calcium) form common minerals (e.g., magnesite, dolomite, marble, or limestone). Is that a fact? Aha! It appears in climate-warming debates, but it doesn’t seem to be really proven by science. There has been a strange madness with only comparing C02 to temperature in arguments. In fact, the same element that our prehistoric ancestors burned as charcoal may be the key to next-generation tech materials.In 1985, Rick Smalley and Robert Curl of Rice University in Texas and their colleagues discovered a new form of carbon. – 9B population seems high. April 30/15 23/9 They even form a barrier called the Greenhouse Effect. You have three major types of carbons: graphite, diamond, and the fullerenes. Carbon atoms may have different numbers of neutrons; atoms of the same element having different numbers of neutrons are known as isotopes of the element. It is understood that the max. Portions copyright © Principia Scientific International. The single known source in the United States, in Arkansas, has no commercial importance; nor is India, once a source of fine diamonds, a significant present-day supplier. C, a chemical element of group IV of Mendeleev’s periodic system. Located between boron (B) and nitrogen (N), it is a very stable element. Both surface- and deep-mining techniques are used, followed by flotation, but the major portion of commercial graphite is produced by heating petroleum coke in an electric furnace. PRINCIPIA SCIENTIFIC INTERNATIONAL is legally registered in the UK as a company incorporated for charitable purposes. The two most familiar forms of carbon—diamond and graphite—differ greatly because of the arrangement of their atoms. Carbon is indeed an element, number 6 on the periodic table. Learn about carbon and how it forms the basis of life. This cycle is extremely complex, and it illustrates the interconnection between organisms on Earth. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX. Elemental carbon is an inert substance, which is insoluble in water, diluted acids and bases, as well as organic solvents. You may have heard that carbon is the element of life. What does that mean? Carbon is the sixth element in the periodic table. Only gullible simpletons can believe that the temperature of the Planet Earth is controlled by a few molecules of Carbon Dioxide – just 0.04{154653b9ea5f83bbbf00f55de12e21cba2da5b4b158a426ee0e27ae0c1b44117} – in the atmosphere, when we have a raging Sun only some 90 million miles away that is 3,600 times as big as Planet Earth. Each of the “amorphous” forms of carbon has its own specific character, and, hence, each has its own particular applications. From the moment a baby is born into this world until the time of his or her final breath, this being is inhaling Oxygen and mixing it with Carbon, in order to produce energy, and exhaling a clear transparent gas called Carbon Dioxide. Carbon exists in va… Carbon was officially classified as an element near the end of the eighteenth century. The fundamental issue is the greenhouse effect and it does not matter what the greenhouse gases are. 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.(Wikipedia). If the radiative greenhouse effect of back radiation is correct the higher water vapour levels (and cloud) at Atlanta should cause that city to be warmer than Phoenix. This is indeed curious, since this gas is used to make Dry Ice; it is used in Fire Extinguishers and also in Nurseries to speed up the growth of tomatoes, for example. It is both scientific and logical. Graphite occurs naturally in many areas, the deposits of major importance being in China, India, Brazil, Turkey, Mexico, Canada, Russia, and Madagascar. As to respiration in a man and in a beast; the descent of stones in Europe and in America; the light of our culinary fire and of the sun; the reflection of light in the earth, and in the planets.”, Anthony, regarding water vapour as a greenhouse gas, below is a comparison of climate data between Phoenix, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia. In 1961 the isotope carbon-12 was selected to replace oxygen as the standard relative to which the atomic weights of all the other elements are measured. The purpose of my argument was to show that cities which are humid, are not necessarily warmer than cities with a dry atmosphere. Chemical Properties: The melting point of Diamond is roughly at around 3,700°C and hits boiling point at 4,200°C. Carbon products are obtained by heating coal (to give coke), natural gas (to give blacks), or carbonaceous material of vegetable or animal origin, such as wood or bone (to give charcoal), at elevated temperatures in the presence of insufficient oxygen to allow combustion. Which radiation balance should occur locally just as well as globally?. Each drop is about 50 microliters, of which about 10 microliters is colorant. February 22/9 14/2 Interesting information about the ‘absorption’ of IR radiation during different atmospheric conditions. It exists in … July 41/28 32/21 “And this is true even with Atlanta’s greater cloud cover, which you mention, but don’t consider its cooling effect”. As a simple example, if the absorbing object is half the absolute temperature of the original source of the light, its subsequent spontaneous emission will be 1/16 (1/2^4) of the absorbed (for the same emissivity). But is Atlanta’s atmosphere’s water vapor significantly greater than that of Phoenix as it implied on the basis of the yearly average relative humidity data ? Carbon chains form the basis of complex molecules like DNA. Lessons From A Chicken Wire Stack On Moon, Global Cooling: Beware the Snowman Cometh. Two postings (https://principia-scientific.com/record-temperature-result-of-cloud-revised-updated/) and (https://principia-scientific.com/the-corvallis-or-uscrn-site-a-natural-laboratory/) review actual data from NOAA’s two projects (SURFRAD and USCRN). Natural deposits are worked by crushing, by gravity and flotation separations, and by removal of diamonds by their adherence to a layer of grease on a suitable table. Carbon as diamond is the most expensive and brilliant of all the natural gemstones and the hardest of the naturally occurring abrasives. The words are definitely different. Yes, it is a fact. Liberal politicians and thousands of camp followers demand that we should be Carbon free. Peculiar math: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% Trace gases = 100% Trace gases are termed Greenhouse gases, the so called temperature Control Knob. One mistake was that the average surface temperature is not the average air temperature. Just How Accurate Are Weather And Climate Measurements? Yet another form, called amorphous carbon, has no crystalline structure. By vaporizing graphite with lasers, the scientists created a mysterious new molecule made of pure carbon, according to the American Chemical Society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population Wikipedia says 7.8B as of May 2018, which sounds a bit more realistic. With hot oxidizing agents [Potassium nitrate (KNO­3) and Nitric acid (HNO3)], Metilic acid C6(CO2H)6 is obtained. Your answer is correct Ed, but that is a LABORATORY numer, not the real world. But a bigger cooling effect during the day. I think that accurate measurements (if possible at all! Yes, but I believe that’s mostly in the case of a closed system with boundaries (eg a rod, or a tube full of gas or liquid). Carbon is the cosmic product of the “burning” of helium, in which three helium nuclei, atomic weight 4, fuse to produce a carbon nucleus, atomic weight 12. Isolated finds around the world in regions where no sources are indicated have not been uncommon. When my essays are posted there are usually 20 fewer comments, if there are any, than there are now. A small plane trying to contact the ground could have its signal jammed by a ground based transmitter of higher power. So each drop adds 10ppm of a substance that is absorptive of some wavelengths of visible light. Carbon is most commonly obtained from coal deposits, although it usually must be processed into a form suitable for commercial use. A carbon atom is capable of combining with up to four other atoms (tetravalent), including other carbon atoms; it is this property that allows so many compounds to be formed. Now is that a fact? Here is my question. Cheers. From the Latin word carbo:charcoal. Thanks Ed, Yet it is rather i…, Copernicus Meets the Greenhouse Effect (PDF), Absence Of A Measurable Greenhouse Effect, Greenhouse Effect Theory Within the UN IPCC, Why CO2 Has Nothing To Do With Temperature, The Planck Blackbody Equation and Atmospheric Radiative Transfer, Finite Element Model for Atmospheric IR-Absorption, One-way heat flow formulation with Planck absorption and re-emission, Alternative Theory To Man-Made CO2’s Influence On Climate, Keynesian Economics’ Relationship To Economic Prolems. Omissions? By the way, the 1% trace gas component is overwhelmingly argon, which is completely transparent to IR. The detailed knowledge from these measurements is embedded in the MODTRAN and HITRAN databases, which present in great detail how much IR is absorbed at different wavelengths under different atmospheric conditions. Carbon is characterized as the 4th most abundant element in the universe and the 15thmost abundant element in the Earth’s crust. I’m not sure the same can be said about the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, with the “empty universe” on one side, all in a low density medium. Why is carbon an important element? It is found in abundance in the sun, stars, comets, and atmospheres of most planets. In the crust of Earth, elemental carbon is a minor component. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Scientists describe the three states of carbon … The Two Bottles Experiment Explained, Older PROM papers are now under the Publications menu. A chemical element is a substance that cannot be further broken down by any chemical reaction. In this context I believe we need to consider the follow from The Feynman Lectures of Physics (pp 42-9). Is that a scientific conclusion? Coral and the shells of oysters and clams are primarily calcium carbonate. GRAVISPHERES: What’s the matter with Dark Matter? Other forms—such as carbon black, charcoal, lampblack, coal, and coke—are sometimes called amorphous, but X-ray examination has revealed that these substances do possess a low degree of crystallinity. Molecules of fullerene show promise in a range of applications, including high-tensile-strength materials, unique electronic and energy-storage devices, and safe encapsulation of flammable gases, such as hydrogen. 400ppm of CO2 absorb virtually all 15um radiation within one meter of travel in air (at STP). “Thus, Einstein assumed that there are three processes: an absorption proportional to the intensity of light, an emission proportional to the intensity of light, called induced emission or sometimes stimulated emission, and a spontaneous emission independent of light.” Hence, I understand that the straight line IR radiation that is absorbed (or scattered by ‘cloud’ droplets) is given a ‘new’ direction by a scattering phenomenon or by the induced emission which follows the absorption which is proportional to the intensity of this straight line being emitted from a small, hot, surface (of small volume of a very hot gas whose water vapor composition is far greater than that of the surrounding atmosphere). Diamond is transparent. Carbon is a long-studied element, but that doesn't mean there isn't more to discover.