Ancestry And History Of Sulfur Essay

Ancestry and History of Sulfur Sulfur has been known to man since ancient times. In fact, it is mentioned in the Bible under the name “brimstone” at fifteen different places. Ancient peoples also used sulfur, in the form of sulfur dioxide, for household tasks such as bleaching cloth and preserving wine. The ancient Greeks were known to use sulfur as a fumigant. Because sulfur has been used since ancient times, no one is credited with its discovery; however, Antoine Lavoisier was influential in the acceptance of sulfur as an element. Lavoisier pushed for sulfur to be classified as an element in 1777 and faced controversy in 1808 when Humphry Davis disagreed, stating that he discovered hydrogen inside his sulfur sample. It was later concluded
The symbol for sulfur is S, and it has an atomic number of 16. The average atomic mass of sulfur is 32.07 amu. Sulfur can be categorized as a non-metal, and it belongs to the chalcogen family (J).
Attributes of Sulfur Under normal atmospheric conditions, sulfur is in the solid state (RSC). It is light yellow in color and odorless in its pure form (J). Sulfur’s texture can be described as “brittle” (J). Its melting point is 115.21ºC, and its boiling point is 444.60ºC (J). The density of sulfur is 2.07 g/cm3 (RSC). Sulfur does not have the properties of conductivity, ductility, and malleability (C). Generally, the hardness of sulfur is 2 mohs (S). Sulfur has four natural isotopes, all of which are stable. They include: sulfur-32, sulfur-33, sulfur-34, and sulfur-36. Sulfur-32 is the most abundant, with 94.99% of all atoms having sixteen neutrons. The second most abundant is sulfur-34, whose abundance is 4.25%. Sulfur-33 and sulfur-36 are rare to find, with natural abundances of 0.75% and 0.01%, respectively (RSC). There are at least six known radioactive isotopes of sulfur, with the most prominent being sulfur-35 (CE). It has a half-life of 83.37 days
When sulfur is burnt in the air, it forms SO2. Halogens and sulfur always react when heated. For example, fluorine and sulfur together form hexafluoride sulfur. Sulfur will react with the base “hot aqueous potassium hydroxide,” or KOH, to form sulphide (WE).
Role in Society Sulfur can be found in deposits in any volcanic region. It can either be in its pure state or inside minerals such as iron sulfide, lead sulfide, calcium sulfide, and magnesium sulfide, among others (S). Sulfur is used in a variety of ways. For instance, it is vital in process of rubber vulcanization. Additionally, it is used as a component of gunpowder and as a fungicide or bleaching agent (RSC). Despite the aforementioned uses, sulfur is mainly used to form sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is main ingredient in many fertilizers and lead-acid batteries (J). It is created by changing sulfur into sulfur dioxide, which then is changed into sulfur trioxide. The last step in the process is changing sulfur trioxide into sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is also vital to numerous industries