Carbon
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Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with atomic number 6.
Carbon has the interesting property of being able to form arbitrarily large and complex molecules, including chains, rings (such as benzene), branching structures, and so forth. Carbon has four external electrons, which means that two or three of them can be used to attach themselves to other carbon atoms, leaving two or one electron free to attach itself themselves to other radical groups. (Silicon also has four external electrons, but does not form long chains.)
This property of carbon makes it eminently suitable as a method of encoding information. DNA, RNA, and proteins all include carbon in their makeup.
Chemistry is divided into organic chemistry, the chemistry of carbon-based molecules, and inorganic chemistry, the chemistry of everything else.
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