Follow. About 1500 gallons of urine went into his experiment, but it paid off. It’s estimated that Brand used 5,500 liters (about 1500 gallons) of urine to produce just 120 grams of phosphorus, or nearly 46 … Red phosphorus is a non-poisonous, dark red powder that is not very inflammable. Of course, it will take a long time to convert. Mix the oil back into the black upper part. o 4 Phosphorus is an element that is essential for life. When the phosphate loses its oxygen, it becomes phosphorus, which at high heat is emitted as a gas. For example, it's a component of fireworks, flares and matches; it's used to dope silicon; and it's a plant fertilizer. The phosphate urine test measures the amount of phosphate in a sample of urine collected over 24 hours (24-hour urine test). He collected the oil and cooled down the urine. It can only safely be kept under water. In this video I demonstrate how to produce white phosphorus from household materials. 5 years ago | 154 views. Red phosphorus, a relatively stable allotrope of phosphorus, has many uses. Grab that oil! Heat that mixture strongly for 16 hours. Then again, Sami, maybe this isn't such a good idea. I concur with Wes. He returned with 4 - 1 gallon plastic containers and told me I was to use them for a week and return however many were used at the end of the week. Forms of it are found in DNA, RNA, and all living cell membranes. Under high heat, the oxygen in the phosphate reacts with carbon making carbon monoxide. It is done because both the high level and low level of phosphorus can be dangerous for our health. It glowed, perpetually, in the dark. The oil will come back out, followed by phosphorus fumes. Oh, and you'd need about 1500 gallons of urine. She didn't have to live in poverty only because she was born in the 1600s, and so died young. How do you get phosphorus from urine? About 30 years ago, my family discovered we had the genetic mutation that could yield porphyria. First white fumes come off, then an oil, then phosphorus. Grab that oil! Brand mourned for a time, and then went in search of another financially secure wife. In his experiment, he boiled hundreds of litres of urine down to a thick syrup until a red oil distilled up from it. This cools to form solid phosphorus. When I visited my family doctor, he said I'd have to submit urine for testing and stepped out of the room. He did, however, come up with something he called "cold fire." Some scientists think, with some tweaks to our sanitation system, human urine could be mined for the necessary phosphorus. IO9 suggests that you wear protective clothing and eye protection, and don't breathe, because "Urine contains urea, and that breaks down into ammonia. Figure 4: red phosphorus is in safety matches. Back in the 17th century, the German chemist Hennig Brandt chose urine to isolate elemental phosphorus. How do you get phosphorus from urine? Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Earth.It has a concentration in the Earth's crust of about one gram per kilogram (compare copper at about 0.06 grams). Brand (also known as Dr. Teutonicus) evaporated urine and so produced ammonium sodium hydrogenphosphate (microcosmic salt), which on heating produces sodium phosphite. Let the rest cool. Back in the 17th century, the German chemist Hennig Brandt chose urine to isolate elemental phosphorus. The observed symptoms of rickets in this disease are not amenable to vitamin D therapy, massive phosphaturia in this case is an important sign for the diagnosis. In his experiment, he boiled hundreds of litres of urine down to a thick syrup until a red oil distilled up from it. Report. Boil the urine until it’s a “syrup.” Heat the syrup until a red oil comes out of it. History and Design of the Bathroom Part 7: Putting a Price on Poop and Pee, 13 Natural Solutions for Killing and Deterring Ants, 8 Natural & Homemade Insecticides: Save Your Garden Without Killing the Earth. Oh, and keep it under water or it will spontaneously ignite. The substance will cool into two parts, a black upper part and a grainy lower part. How do you get phosphorus from urine? o 3 Pour the urine/charcoal dust and cinnamon mixture into a glass retort with a glass tube leading into a second beaker filled with plain water. Put the … The former is a waxy, yellowish-white, very inflammable, and poisonous solid. He sold the secret to anyone who would pay enough, including Wilhelm Leibniz, the inventor of calculus. ** Nitrogen promotes leafy growth, phosphorus promotes root development and seed germination. How to make Red Phosphorus. After a complicated process of boiling and separating and recombining, he utterly failed to come up with gold. Phosphorus, (IPA: /ˈfɒsfərəs/, Greek: phôs meaning "light", and phoros meaning "bearer"), is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. For this reason, we now use red phosphorus in matches. Phosphorous is essential for life, and it's used in most fertilizers. His steps to discovering this element were undignified, to say the least. Let the rest cool. Feel like doing a lot of horrible things with pee this weekend? However, at ordinary temperatures the conversion of the white allo… o 2 Mix two tablespoons of finely-powdered charcoal and two tablespoons of powdered cinnamon into the urine and stir. The body needs phosphorus to build and repair bones and teeth, help nerves function, and make muscles contract. Once you have white phosphorus, you can make red phosphorus by adding just a -trace- of iodine to the water under which the white phosphorus must be kept, and putting the jar out in the sunlight. Although no direct use was found for cold fire in Brand's life, people were fascinated with it. Cut out and save all the striking strips. It’s something that most people wouldn’t even think of trying to do, but back in the mid seventeenth century peoples general knowledge of chemistry was not as advanced as it is today. 1. Lloyd Alter is Design Editor for Treehugger and teaches Sustainable Design at Ryerson University in Toronto. When heated with carbon (charcoal) this decomposed to produce white phosphorus and sodium pyrophosphate. (And keep them in lightproof paper bags - also supplied - of course.) First, you should allow some urine (preferably your own but I don't judge) to sit in an open container for about a week. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic phosphate rocks.. Due to its high reactivity, phosphorus is never found as a free element in nature. Grab that oil! 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