Carbon Is the Basis of All Known Life
Its ability to form four bonds lets it build the long chains found in living molecules.
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Carbon Is the Fourth Most Abundant Element in the Universe by Mass
Only hydrogen, helium and oxygen are more common.
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Graphene Is a Single Layer of Carbon Atoms
Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov isolated it in 2004 and won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.
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Buckminsterfullerene Was Discovered in 1985
The soccer-ball-shaped molecule of 60 carbon atoms won its discoverers a Nobel Prize in 1996.
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Carbon-14 Dating Can Measure Ages up to About 50,000 Years
It compares the remaining radioactive carbon in once-living material to a known baseline.