Writing with White Phosphorus Still Images White phosphorus dissolved in carbon disulfide is taken into a medicine dropper and used to write on a piece of filter paper. The pale yellow color of the white phosphorus can be clearly seen on the paper as the writing is done. As the solvent carbon disulfide evaporates away, the phosphorus begins to react with oxygen from the air. This spontaneous combustion reaction is an exothermic one that causes the paper to char, leaving P4, the formula for white phosphorus burned into the piece of filter paper. You can get at large JPEG versions of the images by means of the following links. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Back to the topic
White phosphorus dissolved in carbon disulfide is taken into a medicine dropper and used to write on a piece of filter paper. The pale yellow color of the white phosphorus can be clearly seen on the paper as the writing is done. As the solvent carbon disulfide evaporates away, the phosphorus begins to react with oxygen from the air. This spontaneous combustion reaction is an exothermic one that causes the paper to char, leaving P4, the formula for white phosphorus burned into the piece of filter paper.
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| Chemistry Comes Alive! (entry page) | Table of Contents | Matrix of Chapters and Topics | Index | Alphabetical List of Topics | Chemistry Textbooks | © 1999 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
© 1999 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
