Phosphorus

This article is about the chemical element. For the article about Phosphorus meaning "morning star", go to Phosphorus (morning star).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Phosphorus, (from the Greek language Phosphoros meaning "light bearing"), is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent, nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic phosphate rocks and in all living cells. Due to its high reactivity, it is never found as a free element in nature. It emits a faint glow upon exposure to oxygen (hence its name, Latin for 'morning star', from Greek words meaning 'light' and 'bring'), occurs in several allotropic forms, and is an essential element for living organisms. The most important commercial use of phosphorus is in the production of fertilizers. It is also widely used in explosives, friction matches, fireworks, pesticides, toothpaste, and detergents.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Greek language: Greek (Greek ????????, IPA ? "Hellenic") constitutes its own branch of the Indo-European languages. It has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any Indo-European language. It is spoken by 15 million people primarily in Greece and Cyprus, but also in many Greek emigrant communities ar...

Chemical element: A chemical element, often called simply element, is the class of atoms which contain the same number of protons....

Periodic table: The periodic table of the chemical elements, also called the Mendeleev periodic table, is a tabular display of the known chemical elements. First created by Dmitri Mendeleev, the elements are arranged by electron configuration so that many chemical properties follow a regular pattern across the tabl...