Carbon, is a element that forms diamonds, graphite, coal, and is the essential element around which all organic molecules are constructed. Carbon atoms are a product of solar helium fusion and are expelled into space during supoernova explosions. Carbon atoms contain six protons (i.e., an atomic number of 6). The element carbon is designated by the elemental symbol (C). Although the average atomic weight of all carbon isotopes is 12.01115 amu, the prevalent isotope of carbon, carbon-12 (i.e, carbon atoms containing 6 protons and 6 neutrons) is, by definition, 12.0000 amu and is the standard by which all other atomic masses and weights are determined.

Although carbon is not abundant in the crust of the Earth it is found dissolved in limestone and in water. Ironically, carbon comprises more than 17% of the human body by weight, second only to oxygen atoms. Combined with oxygen, carbon form oxides which are abundant in...