Discovered : known from prehistoric times. Origin : The name is derived from the Latin ‘carbo’, charcoal. Description : There are a number of forms of this element including coke, soot, charcoal, graphite and diamond. In 1985, a new one was discovered consisting of ‘footballs’ of carbon atoms. The element itself is used as coke in steel making to reduce iron oxide to iron, as carbon black in printing, and as charcoal in sugar refining. However, carbon is also the basis of all life since it is part of DNA. The human body contains about 16 kilogrammes of carbon in one form or another. Carbon is also important environmentally as carbon dioxide, it makes up 350 parts per million of the atmosphere, and plants take it in as they grow. Carbon dioxide is also the gas formed when natural gas, oil and coal are burned. Image : Carbon - king of the elements.