Element 15- Phosphorus
Best element on the whole element table!
A little about Phosphorus:
- Weight: 30.973762
- Melting point: 317.30K
- Boiling point: 553.65K
- Is a solid at room temperature.
- Period number: 3
- Group number: 15
- Element classification: non-metal
Phosphorus' History
Phosphorus was discovered in 1669 by Hennig Brand, a German alchemist. Brand discovered phosphorus by boiling, filtering, and otherwise processing as many as 60 buckets of urine. Yes, this may sound disgusting at first, but it had to be discovered somehow! Luckily, phosphorus is now found in a rock called phosphate rock.
Phosphorus's three man forms or allotropes:
White phosphorus
Highly poisonous and ignites with contact with air. Is stored under water.
Red Phosphorus
Made by heating white phosphorus to 250C or by exposing it to sunlight. Red Phosphorus is not poisonous. Is used in safety matches, fireworks, smoke bombs, and pesticides.
Black Phosphorus
Also formed by heating white phosphorus, but add a mercury catalyst and a seed crystal of black phosphorus is required. Black phosphorus is the least reactive and has no commercial uses.
Guaranteed commercial use.
Commercial uses:
Phosphorus is a good element to have for these commercail uses:
- fireworks, which is a must have for holidays.
- smoke bombs, for weapons.
- Pesticides
- Safety matches, a common used product of phosphorus
- Phosphoric acid is in many soft drinks and fertilizers.
- Trisodium phosphate: is used as a cleaning agent and water softener.