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Who Discovered Sulfur

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.

(30) Comments

  1. Response to freddie:
    we know who made sulfur and it is Jesus!

    but who discovered it??

    which means who found it first???

  2. 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).

  3. 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.

  4. Here are the main ones:

    – Vulcanization of rubber (this process cross-links polymers)
    – Used in gunpowder.
    – Used in the manufacturing of cellophane and rayon (when reacted with methane to produce carbon disulfide).
    – Compounds of sulfur are important components of detergents, fungicides and dyestuffs.
    – Some acne treatments contain sulfur as an ingredient.
    – Most sulfur is converted to sulfuric acid. This is mainly used in the production of fertilizers. Other uses include oil refining, water processing and mineral extraction.
    – Although rare, sulfur is used sulfur lamps.

  5. wow, my teachers so nice, she gives me a project on the hardest element, why couldn’t I have gotten Oxygen, that would have been easy

  6. The cost of sulfur changes all the time. It ranges from around $700 to $1000 per ton (1000 kg) depending on the quality and the form (liquid sulfur costs more for instance).

  7. Thx guys all of yalls comments and facts really helped me!!
    This site is better than wikipedia.
    I thought it would take me a week to get all this stuff done, only took two days!

  8. Hey im just doing this for a school project and i need to know what is sulfurs atomic number? Someone, please tell me what it is, please!

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