Carbon

C · Z 6

atomic number: 6
atomic mass: 12.011
notation: C
group: 14: Carbon
period: 2
state0c: Solid
state20c: Solid
occurrence: Primordial
density: 2.267
melting pt: 3550
boiling pt: 4027
discovered: -3750
abundance: 200
bio class: Bulk
ore grade: 100000
ore minerals: graphite (flake and vein); diamond in kimberlite; coal
mined as: Primary

bio role

The backbone of every organic molecule: four bonds, catenation, and a chemistry rich enough to build everything alive. About 18 % of body mass.

extraction

Three different industries. Flake graphite is floated, and for battery anodes spheroidised and purified. Diamonds are freed by crushing kimberlite, concentrated by density and picked out by X-ray fluorescence. Coal is stripped or longwall-mined by the billion tonnes, for energy rather than for carbon.

mines

Balama Jwaneng Mir North Antelope Rochelle Cerrejón

machines

Brushed DC Motor Lithium-Ion Cell Fuel Cell Chicago Pile-1 Vapour-Compression Refrigerator Solid-Propellant Rocket Motor

skills

Heat Treating Steel Forging Turning on a Lathe MIG Welding FDM 3D Printing Mortise and Tenon Joint Sharpening an Edge Building a Circuit on a Breadboard Swordsmithing

equations

Half-Life Van der Waals Equation Young's Modulus Bragg's Law Chandrasekhar Limit Eyring Equation Gibbs Free Energy Michaelis–Menten Equation Fourier's Law of Heat Conduction

Open on the Periodic Table shelf — the interactive card, the filters, and everything alongside it.

From the All Periodical Elements database in Notion, last edited 2026-08-25. This page is the row, rendered by the build; nothing on it is written by hand.