Carbon makes its mark
Nov 3, 2004
Once upon a time carbon was just another element to physicists, of interest mostly for its ability to perform calculations on the backs of envelopes and other pieces of paper. Even though life itself was based on the sixth element of the periodic table and carbon had many industrial applications, the interests of most physicists lay elsewhere: hydrogen; the various isotopes of helium; semiconductors such as silicon, germanium and gallium arsenide; uranium and so forth. And when the naturally occurring elements were not enough, new ones were created.
Please sign in
To continue reading this article please sign in below.
Not registered with physicsworld.com?
Register now
for FREE access to all In depth articles plus many other benefits. Just complete the quick and simple form.
Register now It's free!
Already registered? Then there's no need to do a thing, just sign in below.
![[IOP]](http://images.iop.org/cws/icons/themes/phw/colophon-small.png){kind=icon}
