2019-09-02 Bloomberg Businessweek

20

6

C

Carbon

 Carbon $0.11/ kg Minimum carbon price recommended

by the UN Global Compact

Bloomberg Businessweek / SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 THE ELEMENTS

By Eric Roston If chemistry were fair, the 118  elements

would distribute themselves evenly among

the 154  million substances in the

American Chemical Society’s

CAS Registry. It’s not. All but

about 2 million have a molecular

scaffolding of atom No.  6, carbon.

It’s the diamond on the ring, and

also a good bit of the finger

wearing it. Here, by size and date of

discovery, are  a few mighty molecules

brought to you  by the letter  C.

1750 1800 1850

COMPLEX

MOLECULAR WEIGHT

DATE OF DISCOVERY

SIMPLE

The Everything

CARBON DIOXIDE

CO 2

Plant food; human overindulgence

SODIUM BICARBONATE

NaHCO 3

Odor eater

DDT

C 14 H 9 Cl 5

Insecticide

VANILLIN

C 8 H 8 O 3

ACETAMINOPHEN

C 8 H 9 NO 2

TRIGLYCERIDES

C 55 H 98 O 6

Fatty contributor

to heart disease

BENZENE

C 6 H 6

Toxic molecularring

ACETONE

C 3 H 6 O

Nail polish

remover

CHOLESTEROL

C 27 H 46 O

ACETIC ACID

C 2 H 4 O 2

Vinegar stuff

LIGNIN

C 31 H 34 O 11

Plant skeleton

NICOTINE

C 10 H 14 N 2

Cigarette thing

GLUCOSE

C 6 H 12 O 6

CELLULOSE

C 6 H 10 O 5

Plant tissue; paper

CARBON MONOXIDE

CO

Silent killer

UREA

CH 4 N 2 O

Biological output

CARBON ATOM

C

Carbon can hold on to things

and let them go, kind of like

Velcro (which is made of carbon,

as it happens). It makes strong

bonds that give molecules such

as proteins and drugs their

shape, and also readily releases

those bonds, letting molecules

emit stored energy. (Think bombs

and carbs.) And carbon’s ability

to maintain four bonds at once

makes it the periodic table’s

architecturalworkhorse.