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Isolation of Phosphorus
- When
- 1669
- Where
- Hamburg
Brand heated urine residues in a red-hot retort, causing glowing fumes and liquid to burst into flames, isolating phosphorus.
Around 1669, Brand heated residues from boiled-down urine on his furnace until the retort was red hot. Suddenly, glowing fumes filled the vessel, and liquid dripped out, bursting into flames. This accidental process isolated white phosphorus, marking a significant chemical discovery.
Sources
- Hennig Brand Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-26
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.