The Shocking History Of Phosphorous
Created | Updated Nov 17, 2005
Book Review: (part of the Popular Science Book Project - A4166336)
The Shocking History Of Phosphorous - John Emsley
(A biography of the devil's element)
One of the first elements to be isolated by late alchemists/early chemists, phosphorus has a long history of use and misuse, which this book comprehensively addresses.
Starting with the likely discovery of elemental phosphorus in Hamburg in 1669 (ironic, given the partial destruction of that same city centuries later in a phosphorus-fuelled firestorm), the coverage of the improvements in efficiency of manufacture leads on to the initial curiosity value of the element, and its rather misguided use as a medicine.
Moving on to the eventual widespread use in making matches (including the famous 'Lucifers' referenced slightly anachronistically in the WWI song "Pack up your troubles..."), coverage is given to its association with one of the first recognised industrial diseases ('phossy jaw'), and the development of organised labour in the match-maker's strike organised by Annie Besant.
The information on military uses, in smokescreens, incendiary bullets and bombs is covered, leading to the use of organic phosphorus compounds as nerve agents, insecticides and herbicides, and an explanation of organophosphorus toxicity
Various potted histories of murders committed using phosphorous as a poison (usually obtained from rat poison) are followed by a section on industrial accidents, with descriptions of various serious fires, and a particularly serious case of marine poisoning which helped show just how toxic elemental phosphorus is to sea-life.
The book ends with a look at biological processes depending on phosphorus, and with a final chapter charting the use of phosphorus compounds in consumer products such as detergents and food additives, and the need for control over release into the wider environment.
The Shocking History Of Phosphorous - John Emsley
(A biography of the devil's element)
One of the first elements to be isolated by late alchemists/early chemists, phosphorus has a long history of use and misuse, which this book comprehensively addresses.
Starting with the likely discovery of elemental phosphorus in Hamburg in 1669 (ironic, given the partial destruction of that same city centuries later in a phosphorus-fuelled firestorm), the coverage of the improvements in efficiency of manufacture leads on to the initial curiosity value of the element, and its rather misguided use as a medicine.
Moving on to the eventual widespread use in making matches (including the famous 'Lucifers' referenced slightly anachronistically in the WWI song "Pack up your troubles..."), coverage is given to its association with one of the first recognised industrial diseases ('phossy jaw'), and the development of organised labour in the match-maker's strike organised by Annie Besant.
The information on military uses, in smokescreens, incendiary bullets and bombs is covered, leading to the use of organic phosphorus compounds as nerve agents, insecticides and herbicides, and an explanation of organophosphorus toxicity
Various potted histories of murders committed using phosphorous as a poison (usually obtained from rat poison) are followed by a section on industrial accidents, with descriptions of various serious fires, and a particularly serious case of marine poisoning which helped show just how toxic elemental phosphorus is to sea-life.
The book ends with a look at biological processes depending on phosphorus, and with a final chapter charting the use of phosphorus compounds in consumer products such as detergents and food additives, and the need for control over release into the wider environment.
