Carbon
This is the front side of the game card for Cole the Dragon With The Carbon Tipped Tail. Click the pic to take a look at all the fun info on the back. Use it as a memorization tool, a trading card or as science class prizes and rewards.
Facts: Period Table Element – https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/6/carbon
Facts – Carbon The Element https://www.livescience.com/28698-facts-about-carbon.html
Facts – what makes carbon King of the Elements? https://physicsworld.com/a/battle-of-the-elements-what-makes-carbon-king-of-the-elements/
Facts – Does Carbon Conduct Electricity https://lambdageeks.com/does-carbon-conduct-electricity/
Article – Magnetic carbon https://www.materialstoday.com/carbon/news/magnetic-carbon/
Facts – Is Carbon Malleable? https://lambdageeks.com/is-carbon-malleable/
Facts – carbon chemical element https://www.britannica.com/science/carbon-chemical-element
Facts – 5 Uses of Carbon in Everyday Life https://noahchemicals.com/blog/5-uses-of-carbon-in-everyday-life/
Fact – Carbon and Its Importance https://www.vedantu.com/chemistry/carbon-and-its-importance
Article – Carbon Uses in Everyday Life https://sciencestruck.com/carbon-uses-in-everyday-life
Article – The Element Carbon https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele006.html
Article – revealed: forest carbon offsets biggest provider worthless https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/18/revealed-forest-carbon-offsets-biggest-provider-worthless-verra-aoe
Article – here are all the positive environmental stories from 2023 so far https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/05/18/here-are-all-the-positive-environmental-stories-from-2023-so-far
Article – carbon chemical element https://www.britannica.com/science/carbon-chemical-element
Article – The Element Carbon https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele006.html
Article – Kimberlite Pipes https://investingnews.com/daily/resource-investing/gem-investing/diamond-investing/kimberlite-pipes-south-africa-australia-borneo-brazil-russia/
Article & History – The Critical Element Carbon https://chemistrytalk.org/carbon-element/#:~:text=Carbon%2C%20with%20atomic%20number%206,for%20life%20like%20carbon%20can
Facts – About Carbon, History, and Uses – https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/6/carbon
Facts – Facts of Carbon – https://facts.net/carbon-facts/
Facts – Facts and Importance of Carbon – https://byjus.com/chemistry/carbon-and-its-importance/
Facts – Carbon Deposits – https://www.e-education.psu.edu/meteo3/l10_p5.html
Facts – Diamond Deposits – https://www.statista.com/statistics/267905/world-diamond-reserves-by-country/#:~:text=Russia%20and%20the%20Botswana%20hold,%2C%20respectively%2C%20as%20of%202022
Facts – Graphite Deposits – https://www.statista.com/statistics/267367/reserves-of-graphite-by-country/
Wiki – Carbon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon
Links and Notes for Cole’s chemistry inspired magical abilities:
Carbon allotropes (graphite, diamond, nanotubes) — the basis of Cole’s shape-shifting powers
- Allotropes of Carbon – Britannica — explanation of how the same element forms graphite, diamond, and other structures depending on how atoms bond.
- Allotropes of Carbon – Wikipedia — broad overview including graphene and fullerenes.
- 14.4: Allotropes of Carbon – Chemistry LibreTexts — more technical treatment of bonding geometry
Carbon nanotubes as super-strong “nets” — backs up the nanotube mesh Cole uses to subdue the golem
- Mechanical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes – Wikipedia — tensile strength data.
- Carbon Nanotubes Twice as Strong as Once Thought – ScienceDaily — research on why nanotubes outperform steel per unit weight.
- Strength of Carbon Nanotubes Depends on Their Chemical Structures – Nature Communications
How diamonds actually form — for Vexar’s “Carbon Absolute” and the eighteen-centimeter diamond requirement
- How Are Diamonds Made? – Britannica — natural formation under heat/pressure.
- HPHT and CVD Diamond Growth Processes – GIA — how synthetic diamonds are grown industrially – Vexar’s “modern nanotech” transmutation chambers.
- Synthetic Diamond – Wikipedia — general background, including timescales for lab-grown diamond of size/purity
Soil carbon, humus, and why the Ashfields can recover — backs up the “carbon returns to soil” ecology thread
- Humus – Britannica — what humus is and how it forms from organic decay.
- Soil Carbon Storage – Nature Scitable — accessible explainer on organic carbon storage in soil.
- USGS: Evaluation of Conceptual Models of Natural Organic Matter (Humus) — more technical/government source on humification
The carbon cycle — for the overarching “carbon cycles, it doesn’t give up on things” theme
- The Carbon Cycle – NASA Science — NASA’s standard explainer
- What is the Carbon Cycle? – NOAA
Carbon dioxide extraction from air — for Cole’s stated technique of “extracting carbon dioxide from air to cleanse”
- DOE Explains: Direct Air Capture – U.S. Department of Energy — real-world analog technology.
- Direct Air Capture – Wikipedia — background on how it works and current limitations
Why carbon is “the king of the elements” for life — for the thematic claim that all biology is carbon-based
- Carbon-based Life – Wikipedia — explains carbon’s unique bonding versatility (four bonds, chain/ring formation) as the reason it underlies biological chemistry.
- Why Is Carbon the Key to Life? – American Chemical Society — short video/article from a reputable scientific society, good for a general-audience citation.
- 2.18: Carbon – The Chemical Basis for Life – Biology LibreTexts — textbook-level explanation of tetravalency and molecular diversity.
Author’s Fantasy License:
Fenn’s talks about “combustion above three thousand degrees” destroying carbon’s molecular structure but reality is graphite actually begins oxidizing in air in the 600–800°C range, and doesn’t fully vaporize until much higher temperatures depending on atmosphere — not a clean “3,000 degrees” threshold.
