Activated carbon
![Activated carbon](/Images/godic/202501/04/Activated_Carbon4744.jpg")
![Activated charcoal for medical use](/Images/godic/202501/04/ActivatedCharcoal4744.JPG")
![Activated carbon is usually used in water filtration systems. In this illustration, the activated carbon is in the fourth level (counted from bottom).](/Images/godic/202501/04/Water_Filtration_Systems4745.png")
![A micrograph of activated charcoal (R 1) under bright field illumination on a light microscope. Notice the fractal-like shape of the particles hinting at their enormous surface area. Each particle in this image, despite being only around 0.1 mm across, has a surface area of several square meters.[13] The entire image covers a region of approximately 1.1 by 0.7 mm, and the full resolution version is at a scale of 6.236 pixels/μm.](/Images/godic/202501/04/ActivatedCharcoalPowder_BrightField4745.jpg")
Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, or activated coal, is a form of carbon processed to have small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions. Activated is sometimes substituted with active.