The 13th Element

John Emsley

Description

The incredible "glowing" history of the "Devil's element "phosphorus

Discovered by alchemists, prescribed by apothecaries, exploited by ninth-century industrialists, and abused by twentieth-century combatants, the chemical element phosphorus has fascinated us for more than three centuries. It may even be the cause of will-o'-the wisps and spontaneous human combustion! Now John Emsley has written an enthralling account of this eerily luminescent element. Shining with wonderful nuggets-from murders-by-phosphorus to a match factory strike; from the firebombing of Hamburg to the deadly compounds derived from phosphorus today-The 13th Element weaves together a rich tableau of brilliant and oddball characters, social upheavals, and bizarre events.

Sujets

• Chimie
• Science
• Chemistry
• Physical
• Sciences et techniques
• Theoretical

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2002
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781620459430
• Langue: English

Extrait

The 13th Element
By the same author

THE ELEMENTS
THE CONSUMER S GOOD CHEMICAL GUIDE
MOLECULES AT AN EXHIBITION
WAS IT SOMETHING YOU ATE?
The 13th Element
The Sordid Tale of Murder, Fire, and Phosphorus
John Emsley
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2000 by John Emsley. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., New York Published simultaneously in Canada
First published in Great Britain with the title
The Shocking History of Phosphorus
by Macmillan, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Ltd., in 2000.
Pack Up Your Troubles (In Your Old Kit Bag)
Words by George Asaf and Music by Felix Powell 1915,
reproduced by permission of Francis Day Hunter Ltd, WC2H OEA, England.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, [phone], fax [phone], email: [e-mail].
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
ISBN 0-471-44149-X
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7
Contents
Acknowledgments

Introduction
1. Out of alchemy
2. The alchemist and his apprentice
3. The toxic tonic
4. Strike a light
5. Strike!
6. The cost of a box of matches
7. Gomorrah
8. The ultimate evil - and a power for good
9. Murder
10. Fortunes from phosphorus
11. Unlucky days
12. The supreme ruler
13. Oh, shit!
14. Spontaneous human combustion and other horrors
Epilogue: The Devil s element?

Appendix: The right chemistry
Sources
Index
Acknowledgments
My interest in the history of phosphorus began many years ago when I collaborated on writing The Chemistry of Phosphorus with my colleague Dennis Hall. While collecting data for that book I came across all kinds of human-interest stories which were not suitable for a textbook of chemistry, but were ideal for a popular science article, and this appeared in the magazine New Scientist . An unexpected response to this was an invitation to give a talk - with demonstrations - for the Molecule Theatre, as part of a series of public lectures organized by Sir Bernard and Lady Miles. Following that came further invitations to give the talk and at many of these I would be approached by a member of the audience with yet another story to add to my collection of phosphorus anecdotes.
In 1992, I was invited to turn the talk into a script for a radio programme, The Shocking History of Phosphorus , which was produced by Louise Dalziel of BBC Radio Scotland and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September of that year. The programme won a Glaxo Award for popular science broadcasting, and a Sony Award for memorable radio programmes. As a result I accumulated yet more material from listeners.
It would be impossible now to name all the people who have contributed to the story of phosphorus over the years, but some deserve special mention, especially those who have checked chapters of The Shocking History of Phosphorus dealing with areas in which they are acknowledged specialists, and suggested ways to improve them. They were: Tim Jones and Steve Marsden ( Chapter 1 ), Fred Holmes ( Chapter 2 ), Peter Fell ( Chapter 3 ), Nik Wachsmann ( Chapter 7 ), Guy Selby-Lowndes ( Chapter 8 ), Bill Duley ( Chapters 10 , 11 and 13 ) and Ed Rider ( Chapter 13 ). Special appreciation goes to Julian Emsley, Mari Evans and Patrick Walsh for their encouragement and support.
I should also like to thank the late Bill Owen MBE, for providing the lyrics of his musical The Matchgirls ( Chapter 6 ), Michael Frayn for permission to quote from his play Copenhagen and Len Deighton for permission to quote from his book Bomber (both in Chapter 7 ).
The 13th Element

Introduction
The Shocking History of Phosphorus is the first biography of a chemical element, told through the stories of a rich tableau of characters who were involved with it during its 300-year history of curious, bizarre and horrific events. Phosphorus was discovered by the alchemists, researched by the early chemists, exploited by the industrialists of the nineteenth century and abused by the combatants of the twentieth. Its capacity for evil cursed all who tried to exploit it, from the would-be murderer to the worldwide manufacturer. But set against this tale of woe are a few remarkable benefits that phosphorus brought and it is an important ingredient in many of the things we use in our everyday lives. Still it continues to surprise, as it did in the 1990s when it was shown to be the likely cause of mysterious lights, graveyard ghosts and possibly even of spontaneous human combustion.
Before you begin its story, you need to know a little about its name. The word phosphorus is derived from the ancient Greek words phos , meaning light , and phorus , meaning bringing . Phosphorus is the name of the chemical element, and its chemical symbol is P. It does not occur naturally, only in the oxidized form of phosphates, which are minerals in which each phosphorus atom is surrounded by four oxygens. Organophosphate is the name given to a phosphate molecule that has organic groups attached, by which is meant derivatives of carbon. DNA is an organophosphate, and so are nerve gases and insecticides.
In everyday speech the words phosphorus and phosphate are often used interchangeably, so that we talk of phosphorus fertilizers and phosphorus pollution, when we really mean phosphate fertilizers and phosphate pollution. The phosphorus cycle in Nature governs all life on Earth and this too refers to phosphate or organophosphate. Whenever possible I shall use the correct term in The Shocking History of Phosphorus , but sometimes I will follow convention and talk of phosphorus when this is the term in general use. If there is any ambiguity I will use the term elemental phosphorus to make it clear that what is being referred to is phosphorus itself and not phosphate.
1. Out of alchemy
While thus employed, Gerard was busy about the seated corpse and to his amazement, Denys saw a luminous glow spreading rapidly over the white face. Gerard blew out the candle. And on this the corpse s face shone still more like a glowworm s head. Denys shook in his shoes and his teeth chattered.
What in Heaven s name is this? he whispered.
Hush! tis but phosphorus. But twill serve. In half a minute Gerard s brush made the dead head a sight to strike any man with dismay. He put his art to a strange use and one unparalleled perhaps in the history of mankind. He illuminated his dead enemy s face to frighten his living foe; the staring eyes he made globes of fire; the teeth he left white . . . but the palate and tongue he tipped with fire . . . and on the brow he wrote in burning letters LA MORT.
Charles Reade s best-selling novel, The Cloister and the Hearth , from which this extract is taken, was published in 1861. The story recounts the adventures of two friends, Gerard and Denys, as they romp their way across Europe in the middle years of the fifteenth century. The book was much admired, not only for being a good read, but for its attention to historical detail, although the author got it very wrong when it came to phosphorus. This element was unknown in the Middle Ages, even if it was an everyday item when Reade wrote his book.
The time-slip is partly excusable because the origin of phosphorus was shrouded in mystery. It had even been suggested that it was known in the days of ancient Rome, and it may well be that the secret of its manufacture was discovered - and lost - more than once down the centuries. This we can attribute to the paranoid secrecy of the alchemists as they searched endlessly for the philosopher s stone, the mythical compound that would turn base metals like lead into gold. It was one of their number who finally revealed phosphorus to the world, but that was 200 years after the time of Gerard and Denys.
Uncertainty still surrounds the date on which phosphorus was first made. We can be fairly sure the place was Hamburg in Germany, and that the year was probably 1669, but the month and day are not recorded, though it must have been night-time. The alchemist who made the discovery stumbled upon a material the like of which had never been seen. Unwittingly he unleashed upon an unsuspecting world one of the most dangerous materials ever to have been made.
On that dark night our lone alchemist was having no luck with his latest experiments to find the philosopher s stone. Like many before him he had been investigating the golden stream, urine, and he was heating the residues from this which he had boiled down to a dry solid. He stoked his small furnace with more charcoal and pumped the bellows until his retort glowed red hot. Suddenly something strange began to happen. Glowing fumes filled the vessel and from the end of the retort dripped a shining liquid that burst into flames. Its pungent, garlic-like smell filled his chamber. When he caught the liquid in a glass vessel and stoppered it he saw that it solidified but continued to gleam with an eerie pale-green light and waves of flame seemed to lick its surface. Fascinated, he watched it more closely, expectin