Discovery date : Prehistoric
Discovered by: -
Origin of the name: The name is derived either from the Sanskrit 'sulvere', or the Latin 'sulfurium'.
Allotropes : α-S (orthorhombic), β-S (monoclinic), S2, S3, cyclo-S8
~>SULFUR is a chemical element with symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent, and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules.
| FACT BOX | |||
| Group | 16 | Melting point | 115.21°C, 239.38°F, 388.36 K |
| Period | 3 | Boiling point | 444.61°C, 832.3°F, 717.76 K |
| Block | p | Density (g cm−3) | 2.07 |
| Atomic number | 16 | Relative atomic mass | 32.06 |
| State at 20°C | Solid | Key isotopes | 32S |
| Electron configuration | [Ne] 3s23p4 | CAS number | 7704-34-9 |
| ChemSpider ID | 4515054 | ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database | |
Sulfur is mentioned 15 times in the Bible, and was best known for destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. It was also known to the ancient Greeks, and burnt as a fumigant. Sulfur was mined near Mount Etna in Sicily and used for bleaching cloth and preserving wine, both of which involved burning it to form sulfur dioxide, and allowing this to be absorbed by wet clothes or the grape juice. For centuries, sulfur along with mercury and salt, was believed to be a component of all metals and formed the basis of alchemy whereby one metal could be transmuted into another.
Antoine Lavoisier thought that sulfur was an element, but in 1808 Humphry Davy said it contained hydrogen. However, his sample was impure and when Louis-Josef Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thénard proved it to be an element the following year, Davy eventually agreed.