White Phosphorus in Pure Oxygen (reaction only)

White Phosphorus - part of our “Berzelius Day“ uploading 24 videos in 24 hours. Full video containing this reaction at: NOTE FROM THE PROFESSOR: 9. White phosphorus is made up of tetrahedral shaped P4 molecules with very strained (and weak) bonds. P4 reacts with oxygen to make a white solid containing P4O10 molecules, which confusingly is called “phosphorus pentoxide“ (it's confusing because “pent“ is derived from the word “five“ in Greek). See our 24 reactions playlist as it unfolds at: Berzelius Day explained: More chemistry at Follow us on Facebook at And on Twitter at From the School of Chemistry at The University of Nottingham: Periodic Videos films are by video journalist Brady Haran