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In the rhombohedral allotrope, designated ρ-sulfur, the molecules are composed of rings of six sulfur atoms. Rhombohedral sulfur has six-membered rings.
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Orthorhombic sulfur has a ring of eight sulfur atoms at each lattice point. Antoine Lavoisier recognized it as an element in 1777, although it was considered by some to be a compound of hydrogen and oxygen its elemental nature was established by the French chemists Joseph Gay-Lussac and Louis Thenard. Sulfur was regarded by the alchemists as the principle of combustibility.
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Pliny the Elder in 50 ce reported a number of individual uses of sulfur and ironically was himself killed, in all probability by sulfur fumes, at the time of the great Vesuvius eruption (79 ce). The use of sulfur in explosives and fire displays dates to about 500 bce in China, and flame-producing agents used in warfare ( Greek fire) were prepared with sulfur in the Middle Ages. Greek mythology includes sulfur chemistry: Homer tells of Odysseus’ use of sulfur dioxide to fumigate a chamber in which he had slain his wife’s suitors. The beginnings of practical and industrial uses of sulfur are credited to the Egyptians, who used sulfur dioxide for bleaching cotton as early as 1600 bce. “Fire and brimstone” references in the Bible are related to sulfur, suggesting that “hell’s fires” are fuelled by sulfur. The combustion of sulfur had a role in Egyptian religious ceremonials as early as 4,000 years ago. Prehistoric humans used sulfur as a pigment for cave painting one of the first recorded instances of the art of medication is in the use of sulfur as a tonic. The name itself probably found its way into Latin from the language of the Oscans, an ancient people who inhabited the region including Vesuvius, where sulfur deposits are widespread. The history of sulfur is part of antiquity. Deposits of sulfur in volcanic regions probably originated from gaseous hydrogen sulfide generated below the surface of Earth and transformed into sulfur by reaction with the oxygen in the air. In underground deposits of very pure sulfur that are present in domelike geologic structures, the sulfur is believed to have been formed by the action of bacteria upon the mineral anhydrite, in which sulfur is combined with oxygen and calcium. Seawater contains about 0.09 percent sulfur in the form of sulfate. On the basis of the finding that certain meteorites contain about 12 percent sulfur, it has been suggested that deeper layers of Earth contain a much larger proportion. Sulfur occurs in the uncombined state as well as in combination with other elements in rocks and minerals that are widely distributed, although it is classified among the minor constituents of Earth’s crust, in which its proportion is estimated to be between 0.03 and 0.06 percent. In cosmic abundance, sulfur ranks ninth among the elements, accounting for only one atom of every 20,000–30,000. Major funding for this expedition was provided by NOAA Ocean Exploration Program and NOAA Vents Program video clips edited by Bill Chadwick, Oregon State University/NOAA See all videos for this article One arm of the Jason remotely operated vehicle breaking through the thin crust on a deposit of molten sulfur near the Mariana Islands. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.
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