Farmers rely on phosphorus fertilizers to enrich the soil and ensure bountiful harvests, but the world's recoverable reserves of phosphate rocks, from which such fertilizers are produced, are finite and unevenly distributed. ...
Environment
Apr 17, 2019
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18
In the future, a newly discovered mechanism in control of plant nutrition could help to achieve higher harvests in a sustainable way. Scientists from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 27, 2019
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4
Crops just can't do without phosphorus.
Environment
Mar 27, 2019
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10
The good news is global and local. Keeping inland lakes from turning green means less greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. Healthy drinking water, fishing and recreation opportunities ...
Environment
Mar 26, 2019
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281
New research from McGill University reveals an overlooked impact that the widely used herbicide glyphosate may be having on the environment.
Environment
Mar 15, 2019
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35
Researchers at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory may have found a new strategy to limit the growth of an algae species called Aureococcus anophagefferens, which at high densities can result in devastating ...
Environment
Feb 18, 2019
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18
Widespread adoption by dairy farmers of injecting manure into the soil instead of spreading it on the surface could be crucial to restoring Chesapeake Bay water quality, according to researchers who compared phosphorus runoff ...
Environment
Feb 07, 2019
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10
Single atomic sheets of black phosphorus are attracting attention for their potential in future electronics applications. A*STAR researchers have now completed experiments at the nanoscale to unlock the secret of this material's ...
Nanophysics
Feb 04, 2019
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11
A significant advance in the photocatalytic activity of conventional materials is demonstrated by a two-dimensional heterostructure comprising nanolayers of two semiconductors: black phosphorus and bismuth tungstate. As researchers ...
Materials Science
Jan 24, 2019
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47
More than 100 years after the introduction of the Haber–Bosch process, scientists continue to search for alternative ammonia production routes that are less energy demanding. Chinese scientists have now discovered that ...
Materials Science
Jan 16, 2019
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62
Phosphorus (pronounced /ˈfɒsfərəs/) is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic phosphate rocks. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms - white phosphorus and red phosphorus. Although the term "phosphorescence", meaning glow after illumination, derives from phosphorus, glow of phosphorus originates from oxidation of the white (but not red) phosphorus and should be called chemiluminescence.
Due to its high reactivity, phosphorus is never found as a free element in nature on Earth. The first form of phosphorus to be discovered (white phosphorus, discovered in 1669) emits a faint glow upon exposure to oxygen — hence its name given from Greek mythology, Φωσφόρος meaning "light-bearer" (Latin Lucifer), referring to the "Morning Star", the planet Venus.
Phosphorus is a component of DNA, RNA, ATP, and also the phospholipids which form all cell membranes. It is thus an essential element for all living cells. The most important commercial use of phosphorus-based chemicals is the production of fertilizers.
Phosphorus compounds are also widely used in explosives, nerve agents, friction matches, fireworks, pesticides, toothpaste and detergents.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
