Why an Atheist Thinks the Shroud of Turin is the Real Deal

Without carbon there would be no life as we know

Carbon

Without carbon there would be no life as we know it. By that we don’t mean we wouldn’t have charcoal for Sunday barbeques or diamonds to wear on our fingers or graphite composite tennis rackets. We simply could not exist. Our bodies are made up of about 18% carbon in the form of carbon compounds. There are well over 10,000 carbon compounds including sugars and amino acids and DNA. We consume carbon in one form or another when we eat. We expel carbon dioxide when we breathe, which is a good thing because plants need it for photosynthesis. And that plants like it is a good thing because too much carbon dioxide is toxic. Nature, through metabolism, does an outstanding job of keeping carbon dioxide levels reasonable for the sustenance of life.

There are sixteen known types or isotopes of carbon but only three are thought to be naturally occurring on earth. They are known by the total number of protons and neutrons in the carbon atom. All forms of carbon have six protons, hence carbon 12 has six neutrons, carbon 13 has seven and carbon 14 has eight. Carbon 12 and carbon 13 are stable, meaning that short of being blown apart by an atom smasher or a nuclear reaction, they should last forever. Carbon 14, on the other hand, is not stable. It will, in time, if left alone, destroy itself all by itself.