What makes phosphorus glow

For example, it can fuel festive Fourth of July fireworks! Phosphorus is the first element with a recorded discovery story.

Today, we extract it from phosphate rocks, but it was first isolated from human urine in He then heated the paste until it produced a vapor that condensed into white, waxy droplets. Phosphorus comes in two main forms.

White phosphorus, the type that Brand collected, is poisonous, can cause severe burns, and spontaneously bursts into flame at around 86 degrees Fahrenheit if exposed to air. Its volatility makes it useful for flares, fireworks, and weaponry. You can find red phosphorus on the striking surface of safety match boxes. These uses, along with applications in processes such as steel manufacturing and fine china production, make up a small percentage of the uses for phosphorus in the United States.

The vast majority of U. Like other living things, we need phosphorus in our diets, and getting enough of the mineral from our food is easy. Phosphorus deficiencies are very rare and are usually only seen when people are near starvation.

These creatures have an internal process that causes a chemical reaction and creates a bright light. Some examples of animals that use bioluminescence include fireflies, some species of deep-sea fish, jellyfish, certain algae, and even a few species of plants like mushrooms. If you're curious about things that glow in the dark and want to play around with glowing things and learn more about how they work, check out these amazing resources.

Sign up to receive great offers in your inbox. You have been signed up for great deals! Thank you. Wristband Resources W Rogers Dr. Ste New Berlin, WI To fully enjoy this site, please enable your JavaScript. Contact Us Call Us: About Us About Us. User name: Please enter a user name Password:. Forgot your password? Don't have an account? The phosphor is mixed into a plastic and molded to make most glow-in-the-dark stuff. Occasionally you will see something glowing but it does not need charging.

The most common place is on the hands of expensive watches. In these products, the phosphor is mixed with a radioactive element, and the radioactive emissions see How Nuclear Radiation Works energize the phosphor continuously. In the past, the radioactive element was radium, which has a half-life of years. Today, most glowing watches use a radioactive isotope of hydrogen called tritium which has a half-life of 12 years or promethium, a man-made radioactive element with a half-life of around three years.

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