Phosphorus, or in the Ancient Greek language "light" plus "I bear", represents the 15th chemical element of the periodic table. Its atomic mass is 30.973762 g/mol, and alphabetic reference – P. Phosphorus is one of the elements, most widespread in earth crust, with contents in 0.08-0.09% of its lump.
Instruction
1. With participation of phosphorus are formed about the 190th minerals known to science, the most important of which are apatite and phosphorite. This chemical element also contains in all parts of plants of green color and also in their fruits and seeds. There is a phosphorus in animal fabrics, as a part of proteins and other important organic compounds, including DNA.
2. Phosphorus is obliged by the opening to the German who was born in Hamburg – to Henning Brand who, as well as a great number of chemists of its present, tried to find a philosophers' stone, but found a certain shining substance in 1669. And also the nature of experiments of this chemist most of which often made experiments with urine which gold color, according to Brand, was the key to receiving a gold-bearing philosophers' stone is interesting. The chemist settled urine before elimination of an unpleasant smell, then boiled to a pastelike state and brought the last to emergence of bubbles then, according to him, and there had to be a gold. But Heninng Brand received the waxy shining substance, that is phosphorus.
3. The razlichnost of its modifications belongs to physical properties of this element under a normal environment, and the modern science recognizes that all of them so far are up to the end not studied. Four of them – white phosphorus, red, black and metal are considered as traditional. They differs not only on the color, but also on density level, physical and chemical characteristics and also on degree of chemical activity.
4. The last is considered higher, than reaction, for example, at nitrogen, and is defined by allotropic modification of chemical element. White phosphorus is very active, but upon transition it to other states, this property gradually decreases. Visible light is capable to radiate white phosphorus that is caused by oxidation reaction.
5. Use of phosphorus is also very various. This production of matches ordinary and habitual to all, various explosives and incendiary alloys and also many types of fuel, effective lubricants, glow lamps. This chemical element found the place also in agriculture where make phosphoric fertilizers (superphosphate and some other) of it. Nearby left from the agrarian sphere and the industry which appreciated phosphorus already is a lot of decades back. In its framework the element is applied to water softening and also at protection against corrosion.