9781422279441

Historical records and archeological finds indicate that carbon and carbon products were used for a variety of uses. Charcoal was used for medicinal purposes in 15,000 bce Egypt. Writings on ancient papy- rus suggest that charcoal was used to treat wounds and prevent them from becoming infected. It was also used to support the health of the intestinal tract. Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician, used char- coal to treat conditions such as epilepsy and anthrax. The Phoenicians used wooden barrels that had been charred on the inside to store their drinking water on the long trading voyag- es. This charring, which created a layer of carbon by burning the wood, kept the water from becoming contaminated and kept it tasting fresher. Other cultures, including Hindu in what is now India, were using charcoal along with sand to filter and purify their drinking water as far back as roughly 450 bce . Here Comes Oil For centuries, scientific knowledge continued to grow and develop. Much work was done to explore the different forms that carbon can take. In the 1770s, Antoine Lavoisier, a French chemist

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The Chemistry of Everyday Elements