Carbon

Element Carbon

Carbon (from Latin: carbo “coal”) is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6.
It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table.
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.
Carbon’s abundance, its unique diversity of organic compounds, and its unusual ability to form polymers at the temperatures commonly encountered on Earth enables this element to serve as a common element of all known life.

Carbon isotopes and mainly C-13 is used extensively in many different applications.
C-13 is used for instance in organic chemistry research, studies into molecular structures, metabolism, food labeling, air pollution and climate change.
C-13 is also used in breath tests to determine the presence of the helicobacter pylori bacteria which causes stomach ulcer.
C-13 can also be used for the production of the radioisotope N-13 which is a PET isotope.
The C-12 atom has been given the atomic weight of exactly 12.000000000 and is used as the basis upon which the atomic weight of other isotopes is determined.