Carbon a streak on paper (hence its name, from the Greek verb "γράφειν" which means "to write"), while diamond is the hardest naturally occurring material known. Graphite is a good electrical conductor while diamond has a low electrical conductivity. Under normal conditions, diamond, carbon nanotubes, and graphene have the highest thermal conductivities of all known materials. All carbon allotropes are solids under normal conditions, with graphite being the most thermodynamically stable form at standard temperature and pressure. They are chemically resistant and require high temperature to react even with oxygen. The most common oxidation state of carbon in inorganic compounds is
Alpha and beta carbon with IUPAC nomenclature, which encourages that carbons be identified by number, not by Greek letter, but it nonetheless remains very popular, in particular because it is useful in identifying the relative location of carbon atoms to other functional groups. Organic molecules with more than one functional group can be a source of confusion. Generally the functional group responsible for the name or type of the molecule is the 'reference' group for purposes of carbon-atom naming. For example, the molecules nitrostyrene and phenethylamine are very similar; the former can even be reduced into the latter. However, nitrostyrene's α-carbon atom is adjacent