Who Discovered Sulfur
By: Want To Know It
Sulfur, the chemical element with the symbol S, is a yellow crystalline solid. Sulfur is an essential element for life and is often referred to as brimstone. This article will tackle the question who discovered sulfur and give four interesting and educational facts about sulfur.
First, let’s look at the question who discovered sulfur. Well, unfortunately, no one really knows who discovered sulfur. Sulfur was known in ancient times and is referred to in Genesis in the Bible (called the Torah in Judaism). English translations of the Bible refer to sulfur as brimstone. Sulfur was also known to the Chinese in the 6th century BC in its natural form. In the 3rd century the Chinese discovered how to isolate sulfur from the mineral pyrite (commonly known as fool’s gold). After isolation, the Chinese began using sulfur in medicine and sulfur has become a part of traditional Chinese medicine. By 1044 AD the Chinese used sulfur as a main component of gun powder. In 1777 Antoine Lavoisier determined that sulfur was an element and not a compound. That is the history of sulfur. Who discovered sulfur- nobody knows! Now let’s look at four amazing facts about sulfur.
Facts about sulfur
- Sulfur is often spelt sulphur in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, Ireland and other Commonwealth states, but sulfur is the correct spelling in the United States. The official spelling as recognised by different chemical societies is sulfur.
- Hydrogen sulfide, produced in anaerobic decay and commonly known as rotten egg gas, gives sulfur a bad reputation as a bad smelling element! Sulfur in its purest form is actually odourless.
- Coal and oils often contain sulfur impurities. When coal and oils are burnt, some sulfur dioxide gas is produced. This reacts with water in the atmosphere to produce sulfuric acid, a component of acid rain which is very damaging to the environment.
- Sulfur has various uses, although it is mainly used in fertilisers as it is important for plant growth. Sulfur is also used in gunpowder, matches, insecticides and fungicides.
17 Comments for Who Discovered Sulfur
1. Freddie | January 23rd, 2009 at 4:53 pm
I know who made sulfur…..Jesus!
2. Mary | March 7th, 2009 at 4:33 am
Response to freddie:
we know who made sulfur and it is Jesus!
but who discovered it??
which means who found it first???
3. cora | April 8th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
i need 2 know for my report but u now i agree w/mary Jesus discovered it but who on this earth
4. Want to know it | April 8th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Unfortunately, no one knows who discovered it on this earth! All we know is that people knew about sulfur even in ancient times (thousands of years ago).
5. ace secret | April 8th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
that’s so cool that sulfur is in the bible because i’m doing a report on it.
6. ayshea | September 28th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
what is the mass element?
7. Want to know it | September 29th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Not sure what you mean by ‘mass element’. The atomic mass of sulfur is 32.066.
8. daniel | October 15th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
i have a project on it
9. lemaire Leah | October 18th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
um how was sulfur discovered tho ?
10. Want to know it | October 19th, 2009 at 6:07 am
I’m sorry Leah but no one knows who discovered sulfur or how it was discovered. All we know is that ancient cultures knew about sulfur thousands of years ago.
11. matt edwards | November 14th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
how many approximate uses does sulfur have. (currently)
12. Want to know it | November 16th, 2009 at 7:11 am
That’s a very difficult question to answer! I’d say about 10-15.
13. seleste aka mz star ma babii | November 19th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
this website really helped me with a school and class project THE WEBSITE REALLY WORKS
14. ALex | November 30th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
i needed to clarify who exactly discovered sulfur. now i see that no one did. Sulfur is an interesting element!
15. miranda | December 15th, 2009 at 2:31 am
what is the freezing point of sulfur i need it for a project
16. Want to know it | December 15th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Freezing point of sulfur in three different temperature scales:
115.36 °C
388.51 K
239.65 °F
17. Emelia | January 5th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
this website is pretty good. thanks for the facts
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