Of all the chemical elements known to man, perhaps the most interesting one is carbon. Did you know, for example, that in the form of crystal it gives us one of our most valuable gems, the diamond? As graphite, carbon forms the lead of lead pencils. And coal, the source of much of the heat and power of this machine age, is mostly carbon.

But even more important is the fact that carbon is so vital to life. The bodies of all living things are made up of compounds containing carbon. In fact, scientists believe that where carbon is found in any quantity in the earth, there life has probably existed.