ABSTRACT
Although the term "graphite" (from the Greek 'YpncpEtV, to write) was only introduced at the end of the 1 8th c. , the use of this black mineral species, formerly known as "black lead" , dates back to much earlier periods: it was apparently used in 1 1 1 0 by the monk Theophilus at the Wolfenbiittel library, and a pencil lead industry already existed in the 1 6th C. Graphite is one of the two "natural" forms of elemental carbon, the other being diamond (cf. Chap. l 3) , but the field of carbon materials or "carbons" is wide, and their applications are not limited to jewellery and to leaving a visible trace on paper.
