PHOSPHORUS 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 2p3

Discovery of Phosphorus 17th centenary alchemists searching for a way to make “philosophers stone” a magical substance that turns base metals into gold. Hennig Brandt discovered Phosphorus in 1669 when he was trying to make “philosophers stone” The then unknown substance was dripping from his retort in waxy yellow drops It got its name from when he heated it slightly it caught in fire right away giving it the name of phosphorus which means “bringer of light” in Greek

Sources Of Phosphorus Found in DNA and RNA Vital element to life Phosphorus never directly used in environment Too much phosphate can cause health problems like kidney damage and osteoporosis Naturally found in food Once extracted from urine but no need any more found in phosphate ores Mine for in Russia, Morocco, Tunisia, Togo and Nauru No need make in lab enough made commercially

Characteristics of Phosphorus Most common form of phosphorus are white phosphorus and red phosphorus A rare one is black phosphorus The density is 1.82 g/ml at room temperature The melting point is 44.2 °C The boiling point is 280 °C One form of white phosphorus is a waxy white solid It glows in the dark It is a deadly poison At 250°C the white phosphorus is converted to red phosphorus It doesn’t catch fire spontaneously and is a little less dangerous than white phosphorus The second is when its pure it is colorless and transparent It is insoluble in water, but soluble in carbon disulphide Also it catches fire spontaneously in the air Black phosphorous is made under high pressure It looks like graphite It also has the ability to conduct electricity

Uses of Phosphorus Past Present Future In 1831 Charles Sauria made a "strike-anywhere" match. Its head was a mixture of white phosphorus, potassium chlorate, gum, and starch. When they were rubbed against rough surfaces they ignited. These matches were very poisonous and killed thousands of match-makers or crippled them. Present Since 1844 we have still used phosphorus but it is on the side of the box and it is the red phosphorus. When the head strikes the red phosphorus the antimony(III) sulfide and potassium chlorate create friction which changes the red phosphorus to white. Future In the future phosphorus could be used to create safer fire starting ways.

Bohr-Rutherford Diagram 15=P 15=N

Bibliography Darling, David. "Phosphorus(P)." The Internet Encyclopedia of Science. 30 Nov. 2008 <http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/P/phosphorus.html>. Winter, Mark. "Phosphorus." Web Elements. 1993. 30 Nov. 2008 <http://www.webelements.com/phosphorus/>. "Phosphorus-P." Lenntech. 1998. 30 Nov. 2008 <http://www.lenntech.com/Periodic-chart-elements/p-en.htm#Properties>.