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What the name
means: Phosphorus derives its name
from two Greek words, phos meaning
light and phoros meaning “the
bearer”. So the literal meaning is “the
bearer of light”.
Who identified
phosphorus? Phosphorus was first
isolated in 1669 by a German alchemist,
Henning Brand. He heated large quantities
of urine in a flask that kept out the air
during the process. The concentrated urine
eventually showed as a white solid that
glowed in the dark. When he placed this
white solid in air there was an immediate
reaction which produce a lot of fumes.
Alchemists always kept their methods
secret, but Brand did give an essential
piece of information about his work to
Ambroise Godfrey Hanckwďtz, Robert Boyle’s
assistant. Hanckwďtz had been sent to see
Brand when Boyle, in 1680, tried to extract
phosphorus but kept failing. With the new
information from Brand, Boyle’s experiment
succeeded and he kept the method safe by
giving it to the Royal Society. However,
Hanckwďtz improved the original method to
make phosphorus and became very rich by
selling phosphorus, even exporting it to
Europe. Hanckwďtz even set up a
pharmaceutical company! He never told
anyone the information he had obtained from
Brand which meant that no one was able to
set up in competition against him. In fact,
the big secret was to add solid waste to
the urine before concentrating it!
About phosphorus:
Phosphorus is not found free in
nature because of its affinity for oxygen.
It can be isolated from its compounds in
three forms; black phosphorus, red
phosphorus or white phosphorus. Of the
three, white phosphorus is the most
dangerous since, as Brand discovered, it
ignites when in contact with warm air.
Phosphorus in its pure state does not glow.
It is when oxygen reaches the surface of
the element that the reaction causes light
to be given out. The glow is not permanent
and will gradually disappear. |
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