What is phosphorus made of

Within 50 years of its discovery phosphorus was being produced and sold to apothecaries, natural philosophers, and showmen, who made the element the centerpiece of demonstrations at princely courts and scientific societies. Within years phosphorus was appearing in chemistry textbooks, such as P.

Within another 50 years the element was making its way into matches, fertilizer, and bombs , once mineral phosphates had replaced urine as the best source material. At about this time Wright was part of an intellectually engaged circle of physicians, scientists, and industrialists in the English Midlands.

For centuries the genre of history painting had featured saints , military leaders , and royalty ; never had such artwork featured a specific physician, alchemist, or philosopher at work. The s had been a lucky time for Brandt; the s were fortunate for Wright.

This innovation made it possible for printers to reproduce painterly contrasts from bright whites to rich velvety blacks. These engravings are among the very finest of the 18th century. White phosphorus is the least stable, the most reactive, the most volatile, the least dense, and the most toxic of the allotropes. It gradually changes to red phosphorus, a transformation accelerated by light and heat.

Samples of white phosphorus almost always contain some red phosphorus and so appear yellow. For this reason it is also called yellow phosphorus. It glows in the dark when exposed to oxygen with a very faint tinge of green and blue, and it is highly flammable and pyrophoric self-igniting upon contact with air.

It is also toxic, causing severe liver damage upon ingestion. Owing to its pyrophoricity, white phosphorus is used as an additive in napalm. White phosphorus is insoluble in water but soluble in carbon disulfide. Red phosphorus is polymeric in structure.

It can be viewed as a derivative of P 4 — one of the P-P bonds is broken, and one additional bond is formed between the neighboring tetrahedrons, resulting in a chain-like structure. Phosphorus after this treatment is amorphous. Upon further heating, this material crystallizes.

In this sense, red phosphorus is not an allotrope, but rather an intermediate phase between white and violet phosphorus, and most of its properties have a range of values.

In soil phosphorus will remain for several days before it is converted into less harmful substances. But in deep soils and the bottom of rivers and lakes phosphorus may remain for a thousand years or so. Phosphates Phosphates have many effects upon organisms. The effects are mainly consequences of emissions of large quantities of phosphate into the environment due to mining and cultivating.

During water purification phosphates are often not removed properly, so that they can spread over large distances when found in surface waters. Due to the constant addition of phosphates by humans and the exceeding of the natural concentrations, the phosphor cycle is strongly disrupted. The increasing phosphor concentrations in surface waters raise the growth of phosphate-dependent organisms, such as algae and duckweed.

These organisms use great amounts of oxygen and prevent sunlight from entering the water. This makes the water fairly unliveable for other organisms. This phenomenon is commonly known as eutrophication.

Back to the periodic table of elements. For more information on phosphorus' place in the environment, move to the phosphorus cycle. Recommended daily intake of phosphorus More from 'Elements'. Toggle navigation. Home Periodic table Elements Phosphorus. About Lenntech. General Delivery Conditions.

Privacy Policy. All rights reserved. Atomic number. Properties Phosphorous is a multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group. Applications Concentrated phosphoric acids are used in fertilizers for agriculture and farm production.