| Nitrogen and phosphorus, two of the most | | | | factory and was struggling to find some safer |
| dissimilar non-metallic elements, are in the same | | | | substitutes/ forms of phosphorus. Fortunately in |
| group (14).While nitrogen is very uncreative | | | | 1845 the air stable and non-toxic red phosphorous |
| phosphorous is very reactive. The discovery of | | | | was shown to be chemically identical to while |
| phosphorous by the German Alchemist, Henning | | | | phosphorous. Having learned of this safer |
| Brand in 1669 provided the most interesting saga | | | | allotrope, Albright determined to produce matches |
| of the members of this group. His discovery | | | | bearing red phosphorous. But he noticed another |
| occurred by an accident during investigation of | | | | problem as mixing the inert red phosphorous with |
| urine which was a favorite topic of research in | | | | an oxidizing agent gave an instant explosion. |
| the 17th century as people were in such of gold | | | | Prizes were offered for the development of a |
| and believed that anything gold- colored, such as | | | | safe match, and finally in 1848, some now |
| urine, had to contain gold. When Brand fermented | | | | unknown genius proposed to put half the |
| urine and distilled the product he obtained a white | | | | ingredients on the match tip and the remainder on |
| waxy, flammable solid with a low melting point | | | | a strip attached to the matchbox. Only when the |
| (white phosphorous). | | | | two substances were brought into contact ignition |
| Today we may not realize the significance of | | | | of the match head occur. This was a peculiar |
| discovery of phosphorous and importance of | | | | example of science and technology moving |
| routes for its extraction from phosphate rocks, | | | | forward together. |
| but in 1833, when pocket butane lighters and | | | | In spite of the prevalence of cheap butane |
| other handy ways and materials were not | | | | lighters, match consumption is enormous even |
| available for generating flames and people used to | | | | today. The modern safety match depends on a |
| get its nominal amount from buckets of urine, its | | | | chemical reaction between the match head and |
| discovery was a major break through when | | | | the strip on the match box. The head of the |
| people were delighted to find an easy route for | | | | match is mostly potassium chlorates KClO3, an |
| production of fire by using white phosphorous | | | | oxidizing agent, and the strip contains red |
| matches. However, this comfort and convenience | | | | phosphorous and antimony sulfide Sb2S3, both of |
| came at a horrendous human cost, because white | | | | which oxidize very exothermically when brought in |
| phosphorus is extremely toxic and the young | | | | contact with the potassium chlorate. |
| women who worked in match factories used to | | | | Nowadays in addition to the safety match, there |
| die in staggering numbers due to phosphorous | | | | is also the ‘strike-anywhere' match in which |
| poisoning. This occupational hazard manifested | | | | the two chemical components, the oxidizing agent |
| itself as "Phossy Jaw" a disintegration of the lower | | | | (potassium chlorate) and the reducing agent (tetra |
| jaw, followed by an agonizing death. | | | | phosphorous trisulphide are mixed in the match |
| The British Industrial Chemist Arthur Albright, a | | | | head and any source of friction, such as the |
| kind hearted man, had been troubled by the | | | | glass-paper strip on the match box or a brick wall, |
| enormous number of deaths and related agonies | | | | can provide the activation energy necessary to |
| due to toxicity of white phosphorous in his match | | | | start the reaction. |