Devil in the Dark

A physics qualification needs more than a love of the subject. A broader knowledge is needed, for instance, maths is essential. By-products include astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, and chemistry.

There are three types of chemistry, physical, inorganic and organic.

The first involves stuff like how to accelerate chemical reactions, how much stuff is actually in there, and how much heat is given out/taken in to do it.

The second involves the actual chemical reactions, except for those of carbon.

The third ONLY involves those of carbon.

The reason why carbon is given so much leeway is two-fold. Without carbon, life would not exist, PLUS, carbon is the element that produces the most abundant amount of molecules (collections of atoms), not only on earth, but in the universe itself.

A simple example would suffice. Carbon makes fuel for cars. A phrase often used is “high octane”. This used to mean a more efficient fuel than normal, but is actually a reference to the number of carbon atoms in the molecule – eight. You can also get “heptane” (with seven), or even “Hexane” (with six atoms).

The group are collectively known as the “Alkanes”.

Starting with one carbon atom, methane, it goes like this....
























...with hexane, heptane and octane to follow.

Obviously there is no limit to the length of the chain.

This ability of carbon to abitrarily extend these chains is known as "polymerisation", and formed the basis of the manufacturing of plastics, with products like Nylon, Polyester, and Styrofoam cups.

The diagrams show only a representation of how the molecule is, but the pictures next to each show what we would see, ie they are not linear.

This is because of the four chemical bonds available in carbon. You can easily work it out yourself why the molecule is bent.

Four available "loose" electrons, which repel each other. How can they get furthest away from each other if attached to a sphere in three dimensions? The easy English answer is a three-legged milking stool, plus another (vertical) leg. The actual angle, in an ideal world, would be about 104 degrees. (104.6, I think)

..and that is just carbon bonding with hydrogen the simplest way. There may be double (Alkenes) and triple (Alkynes) bonds, too.

The first in the chain of the alkynes is probably more well known as "acetylene", as in the oxy-acetylene torch, the one that burns in water.

Magnificent element, carbon.

People (science fiction people) have often wondered "Why carbon?", as silicon, the logical next element, may exhibit similar properties.