- Carbon atoms form bonds and connections inside living things
- Energy can be released from carbon bonds through processes like burning paper, digesting food, and igniting gasoline
- Breaking carbon bonds releases energy in the form of calories, which power living organisms and engines
- Human civilization has been built on the ability to harness energy from carbon
- Carbon is widely used and associated with success, although other atoms like uranium and hydrogen can also produce energy
- The love for carbon creates a problem that will be discussed in the next episode.

NPR's Robert Krulwich and Odd Todd, in partnership with Wild Chronicles, present an animated cartoon series on the atom at the heart of global warming: carbon.   In episode 3: If you break a carbon bond -- presto! -- civilization.

Okay, so in the last episode we learned that carbon atoms form bonds and connections inside living things, Like say a tree.

Now if you cut down a tree you can make the tree into lumber and then you can take the lumber and make lumber into pieces of paper like this piece of paper.

So if there are carbon bonds tightly gripped, if there's still energy inside this piece of paper, how do I get the energy out?

The fire excites atoms in the paper so they heat up and they jiggle.

And then immediately they find new partners.

And these new partnerships are generally more efficient and more stable, so...

That's why it's warm when you're near a fire.

It's the energy being released from those carbon atoms changing partners.

And here's another way to break a carbon bond.

The carrot has carbon blocked inside, but when the carbon gets down to my stomach...

There's no fire in here, but there are digestive juices which break those carbon bonds, which once again release energy.

And all that energy takes the form of calories, and then those calories power...

The same thing happens when you gun an engine.

You spark the gasoline which excites the carbon atoms, breaks their bonds, releases energy and off you go.

So we break carbon bonds all the time, we just don't realize it.

In fact, 1 could say that human civilization began when the first cave person That not a thought.

And those fires over the centuries became furnaces, which powered engines, which lit up cities, and created towers and vast highway systems filled with cars.

It turns out the more people become rich on Earth, the more we use carbon.

Carbon is the atom that equals success, although of course there are other atoms that produce energy.

There is also the hydrogen atom, which has recently gotten popular.

The first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen and pollution free.

But raw hydrogen is still hard to find and kind of expensive.

So for the moment, as billions of people all over the world dream of switching from a small house to a bigger house, from a bike to a moped to a car, they plan to do it with carbon.

But our love for carbon does create a problem which we will consider in our next episode.


Speaker 0: Okay, so in the last episode we learned that carbon atoms form bonds and connections inside living things, Like say a tree. Now if you cut down a tree you can make the tree into lumber and then you can take the lumber and make lumber into pieces of paper like this piece of paper. So if there are carbon bonds tightly gripped, if there's still energy inside this piece of paper, how do I get the energy out? Air's out. The fire excites atoms in the paper so they heat up and they jiggle.

When they jiggle, they break apart. And then immediately they find new partners. And these new partnerships are generally more efficient and more stable, so... That leaves a little energy left over. That's why it's warm when you're near a fire.

It's the energy being released from those carbon atoms changing partners. And here's another way to break a carbon bond. Eat a carrot. The carrot has carbon blocked inside, but when the carbon gets down to my stomach... There's no fire in here, but there are digestive juices which break those carbon bonds, which once again release energy.

And all that energy takes the form of calories, and then those calories power... ...Me. Me. The same thing happens when you gun an engine. You spark the gasoline which excites the carbon atoms, breaks their bonds, releases energy and off you go.

So we break carbon bonds all the time, we just don't realize it. I think thought. He think he think thought. In fact, 1 could say that human civilization began when the first cave person That not a thought. Figured out how to make a fire.

That Some thought. Or how to break carbon bombs. Water. Water. And those fires over the centuries became furnaces, which powered engines, which lit up cities, and created towers and vast highway systems filled with cars.

It turns out the more people become rich on Earth, the more we use carbon. Carbon is the atom that equals success, although of course there are other atoms that produce energy. There's always uranium. But uranium makes some people nervous. There is also the hydrogen atom, which has recently gotten popular.

The first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen and pollution free. But raw hydrogen is still hard to find and kind of expensive. So for the moment, as billions of people all over the world dream of switching from a small house to a bigger house, from a bike to a moped to a car, they plan to do it with carbon. But our love for carbon does create a problem which we will consider in our next episode. Carbon!

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Episode 3: Global Warming, It's All About Carbon | Krulwich Wonders | NPR