Carbon exists as diamond and graphite. What do we call different forms of the same element?

Carbon exists as diamond and graphite.





1- What do we call different forms of the same element?


2- Name one other form of carbon.


3- Diamond and graphite have very different properties and uses. Explain these differences.|||1/ These are called allotropes.





2/ Charcoal and fullerene are two other forms





3/ Graphite is soft, slippery, and a good conductor of electricity. It is used as a lubricant, as the "lead" in pencils, and as a conducting material. Diamond is the hardest known naturally occurring substance, and a poor conductor of electricity but a good conductor of heat. It is used as an abrasive, a cutting tool, and as jewellery.|||1) Allotropes,



2) charcoal, ( bone black carbon black vegetable black, these are important in the paint, plastics, and rubber industries. )



3) The differences are due to the physical structures. Graphite is a planar compound, consisting of sheets of carbon consisting of interlocking hexagonal rings, sorry I can't draw it.These plates are the reason for its lubricating properties, the sheets easily slide over each other. As in effect each sheet is a single molecule, there are floating electrons, as in a metallic structure, it is a good conductor of electricity.

Diamond has a hardness of 10 on Mho's scale of hardness ( talc is 1 ) A diamond, if it has no flaws is in effect 1 molecule. Imagine sheets of graphite where the carbon forms a planar sheet but has plenty of "floating" electrons, these electrons then form bonds ( under intense heat and pressure ) with adjacent layers.Now it becomes a three dimensional molecule, diamond|||1) Allotropes


2) Coal, Amorphous carbon


3) Graphite conducts electricity while diamond does not.





Graphite conducts[disambiguation needed] electricity, due to delocalization of the pi bond electrons above and below the planes of the carbon atoms. These electrons are free to move, so are able to conduct electricity. However, the electricity is only conducted along the plane of the layers. In diamond, all four outer electrons of each carbon atom are 'localised' between the atoms in covalent bonding. The movement of electrons is restricted and diamond does not conduct an electric current. In graphite,|||1. Allotropes which are caused because of the existence of electrons in various subshells.


2. Coal, Buckminister fullerene (Molecule of 60 C-atoms arranged spherically)


3. a) Diamond has a 3-D rigid structure while graphite has layer structure.


b) Diamond is the hardest substance known while graphite is soft and brittle.


c) Diamond is a bad conductor of electricity while graphite is a good conductor.


d) Diamond has very high density (3.514g?cm^3) while that of graphite is 2.226g cm^-3.


e) Diamond is extremely chemically unreactive while graphite is reactive.


f) Diamond is used in jewellery and to break very strong materials while graphite is used as lubricant.|||1. Allotropes



2. Buckminster Fullerene



3. Diamond is quite hard while Graphite is soft



Sharp edged diamonds are used by eye surgeons to remove Cataract from eyes while Graphite has found uses as the marking material ("lead") in common pencils, in zinc-carbon batteries, in electric motor brushes.