Definition: A generic term for the family of colloidal carbons. More specifically, carbon black is made by the partial combustion and/or thermal cracking of natural gas, oil, or another hydrocarbon. Acetylene black is the type of carbon black derived from the burning of acetylene. Animal black is derived from bones of animals. Channel blacks are made by impinging gas flames against steel plates or channel irons (from which the name is derived), from which the deposit is scraped at intervals. Furnace black is the term sometimes applied to carbon blacks made in a refractory-lined furnace. Lamp black, the properties of which are markedly different from other carbon blacks, is made by burning heavy oils or other carbonaceous materials in closed systems equipped with settling chambers for collecting the soot. Thermal black is produced by passing natural gas through a heated brick checkerwork where it thermally cracks to form a relatively coarse carbon black. Carbon blacks are widely used as fillers and stabilizers, and to impart resistance to ultraviolet rays.