Today is Sunday, October 1, 2023.
We've been planning to write something basic about our blog's main topic, carbon.
To be a light, instructive read, about all the versatility of carbon, the source of life and coal and diamonds, among others.
Starting from carbon, with its four chemical bonds - tetravalent, remember from high school? - we have the organic chemistry dedicated to the study of carbon compounds. The most common associated elements are oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus. Be it carbon dioxide, CO2 or methane gas, where carbon is linked to four hydrogen atoms, CH4. Here's a huge list of petroleum derivatives.
Ultimately, what about us - and our challenges - without carbon?
Behold, on September 14, 2023, we noticed the article "From carbon we came and towards carbon we will return", by Mauricio Norman Saldivar, for Meteored Argentina. Meteored is based in Spain and has been at the forefront of meteorology for over 20 years.
Let's look at some parts.
(quote).
Almost 99% of our body is made up of four main chemical elements: oxygen, with 65%, carbon occupies just over 19%, and the remainder hydrogen and nitrogen, among others. A similar distribution can be found in almost all animals, while in the plant kingdom carbon is the largest element with about 50%, followed by oxygen with 42%, while the rest is made up of hydrogen, nitrogen and other elements.
And both oil and gas are the remains of organic matter reduced by decomposition to a state in which carbon and hydrogen are the main elements. This is why it is said that by burning fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) we remove the carbon buried in the earth and take it into the atmosphere.
(unquote).
The author also talks about "Carbon, the basis of life". No wonder spacecrafts are always looking for traces of carbon. In fact, a moon of Jupiter caught the attention of scientists a few days ago.
About the carbon cycle: "A continuous journey from Earth's atmosphere to soil and from soil to atmosphere, and this carbon cycle has remained balanced over long periods of time on the planet." And remembering our role in this cycle, as well as that of our pets and our plants, he concludes: "We will return to carbon..."
Click on the image below for the full article.
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