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White phosphorus, yellow phosphorus, or simply tetraphosphorus (P 4) is an allotrope of phosphorus. It is a translucent waxy solid that quickly yellows in light (due to its photochemical conversion into red phosphorus ), [ 2 ] and impure white phosphorus is for this reason called yellow phosphorus.
This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict. US Air Force Douglas A-1E Skyraider dropping a 100-pound (45 kg) M47 white phosphorus bomb on a Viet Cong position in South Vietnam in 1966 White phosphorus munitions are weapons that use one of the common allotropes of the chemical element phosphorus. White phosphorus is used in smoke ...
Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Earth. It has an occurrence in the Earth's crust of about 0.1%, generally occurring as phosphate in minerals.
It can cause “excruciating burns and lifelong suffering,” a Human Rights Watch spokesperson said.
Jöns Jacob Berzelius, who invented the modern chemical notation, discovered that the dangerous white phosphorus in matches could be replaced with the more benign red phosphorus, but was not able to produce a match reliable enough for everyday use. Pasch, a student of Berzelius, managed to do so by moving the phosphorus from the head of the ...
White phosphorus, yellow phosphorus or simply tetraphosphorus (P 4) exists as molecules of four phosphorus atoms in a tetrahedral structure, joined by six phosphorus—phosphorus single bonds. [1] The free P 4 molecule in the gas phase has a P-P bond length of r g = 2.1994(3) Å as was determined by gas electron diffraction . [ 2 ]
People exposed to white phosphorus can suffer severe and sometimes deadly bone-deep burns. It can cause organs to shut down, and burns on just 10% of the body can be fatal, HRW said.
The Pentagon recommended providing the white phosphorus shells to Ukraine as part of several aid packages, including a recent one, as a Presidential Drawdown Authority, according to the officials.