Sulfur is a yellowish substance that looks like yellow sugar cubes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.71.153.75 ( talk) 04:23, 5 December 2008 (UTC) Some of the text in this entry was rewritten from Los Alamos National Laboratory - Sulfur. Additional text was taken directly from USGS Sulfur Statistics and Information, USGS Periodic Table - Sulfur, from the Elements database 20001107 (via dict.org), Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (via dict.org) and WordNet (r) 1.7 (via dict.org). Data for the table was obtained from the sources listed on the subject page and Wikipedia:WikiProject Elements but was reformatted and converted into SI units.
The Precautions section seems to confuse sulfur dioxide and hydrogen disulfide. Isn't the smell-deadening effect specific to the latter? (Methinks that SO2 would go straight from pungent to painful to lethal.) Also elemental sulfur does not seem to be as dangerous as its compounds. Jorge Stolfi 23:13, 10 Apr 2004 (UTC)
I noticed that when I first came to the main article page, I saw the huge empty space that the info box created. Is there any way that someone can fix it? (I would do it myself, only I don't really know how to do anything right now..ha ha.) Thank you kindly, Taekwondo_Tiger_Girl_22
In liquid stage and in normal pressure, there are 3 sulfur allotropes: A yellow liquid sulfur (S8). Then brown rubber-like mass [(S)n]. Final liquid sulfur allotrope is a brown liquid (S8, S6 etc.)
Taurine is listed as an example of a sulfur-containing amino acid, yet the Taurine page states that it is often misconceived as an amino acid, although it is not.
That description of the appearance of Octasulfur is horrible. I STILL don't understand how it looks, even after hours of searching on the web...
I came across this soil science and biology related subject today. Hopefully, one of us will be able to develop it into a stand-alone article.
Sulfur-induced resistance (SIR) "defines a phenomenon of enhanced tolerance against pathogens when crop plants are optimally supplied with sulfur."[1] (Question in my mind: fungal pathogens mainly or exclusively?)
"Enhanced tolerance of crop plants with optimal sulfate supply to fungal pathogens provides a new approach to improve plant health and yield." [1]
"SIR has been verified for seven host/pathogen relations."[2]
"The potential of SIR in reducing fungal attacks under field conditions has been estimated to 17-35%. " [2]
"The mechanisms of this sulfur-induced resistance (SIR) are, however, not yet known." [3]
"The role of sulfur (S) in the resistance of crops against diseases became obvious at the end of the 1980s when atmospheric S depositions were so much reduced by clean air acts that S deficiency became a widespread nutrient disorder in European agriculture. ... It has been long known that foliar applied elemental S has a fungicidal impact but only recently could it be shown that soil-applied S in the form of sulphate also had a significant effect on the health status of crops. A significant repressive effect of soil-applied S on the infection of oilseed rape with Pyrenopeziza brassicae, grapes with Uncinula necator, and potato tubers with Rhizoctonia solani was found. The results of these experiments indicate that S metabolites are involved in disease resistance and support the concept of sulphur-induced resistance (SIR). The S metabolism of plants offers several possibilities to combat fungal attacks and different metabolites were investigated with respect to their role in SIR. For instance elemental S depositions in the vascular tissue of resistant cocoa (Theobroma cacao) in response to infection with Verticillium dahliae were attributed to the toxicity of elemental S. Other mechanisms to combat biotic stress, which are provided by S metabolism, involve glutathione (GSH), phytoalexins, glucosinolates, and the release of S-containing volatiles. H2S is cytotoxic and therefore a relationship between increasing H2S emissions and the resistance of crops against pest and diseases is possible." (and this source continues with additional background information from there)[3]
[1] http://sulfur.ipk-gatersleben.de/research.htm
[2] http://www.idw-online.de/pages/de/news135270
[3] http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/55/406/2305
Paleorthid 19:34, 7 November 2005 (UTC)
A description of the mechanism by which sulfuric acid is created in the Environmental Impact section would be appreciated.
→should the uses of sulfuric acid be meantioned?
Like my chemistry teacher, the article states that sulfur is odorless. But I can smell it. The odor is very distinctive -- and totally different from the famous stench of hydrogen sulfide with which it is impossible to confuse. What am I smelling when I sniff at sulfur crystals?
David Marjanović | david.marjanovic_at_gmx.at | 2006/3/6 | 22:32 CET
I was very surprised to see that the article doesn't mention the valencies of sulphur. Surely they should be in the infobox? Loom91 16:49, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
see also related Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Elements#Valency in infobox -- Femto 15:23, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
chea chea all dat —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.204.119.102 ( talk) 14:20, 27 October 2009 (UTC)
"Sulvere" is a word not found in my Sanskrit dictionary—nor does a googling of the form Devanagarized return any results—and the presence of an L indicates it would be a loanword anyway. According to the page history, an anon already brought this point up but the statement was later removed without special comment by User:Eudyptes, who however retained that anon's unsourced conjecture on the word's Arabic origin, which is still in the article. A quick Google Book Search shows it's not hard to find any shortage of books mentioning "sulvere" in books on chemistry, but . . . I'd like to see an appearance of "sulvere" in a Sanskrit reference or its usage in a Sanskrit text, and reason it should appear here (as opposed to, say, the language it borrowed the word from). — Muke Tever talk 21:33, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
I went to the Eolian Islands recently, Lipari was very nice, but Vulcan (I think) reeked of sulphur. It had a mud bath and hot springs, and the whole thing was all right after a few minutes (senses adjusted, I suppose), but the first thing we noticed was that it smelled awful. So how about a mention of these sorts of places? I'm not even sure of their geological name, but I'm sure someone does. -- 198.53.200.80 00:00, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
Sulfur is a very important commodity sold in bulk form world wide. The primary use for bulk sulfur is to make sulfuric acid, a key ingredient in phosphate fertilizer.
Does anyone feel that info about the commerical market for sulfur is relevant to main sulfur entry? Bevanhouston 05:23, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
I think that the reference to any joke about the temperature of Hell has no place in an article about sulfur. Being that it is a joke about a religious belief, it cannot be made NPOV. The physical properties of sulfur are objectively quantified. The "joke" is clearly biased. I recommend permanent deletion. —Denver 75.192.164.149 15:51, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
What forms of sulfur can be ingested by humans as a preventive health role. Is it benefical as a cleaning agent to our bodies or is it deadly is comsummed in any quanity. Thanks cd —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.32.45.205 ( talk) 23:28, 9 March 2007 (UTC). A century ago, sulfer was mixed with mollasis as a spring tonic. High purity sulfer is not very toxic, but some of the impurities are poisonous, bad smelling and/or bad tasting. Ccpoodle 00:25, 16 April 2007 (UTC)
how many protons does the sulfur have? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.113.58.253 ( talk) 16:10, 29 March 2007 (UTC).
Though its a main component of acid rain I heard that sulfur (or some kind of form of it) in the atmosphere has a cooling effect. It deflects incoming solar radiation while allowing heat to radiate off into space. Is this true at all? If not I must have read wrong, because I remember the USAD Climatology guide saying that a certain gas is capable of reversing the greenhouse gas effect.
This is english wikipedia right? (en.wikipedia.org) So the spelling should be sulphur. The american spelling is sulfur, i accept that. There should be both an american and british version of wikipedia to stop this argument, because it will not stop...—Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.156.182.229 ( talk)
John is right, plus the Chemistry Wikiproject has decided that in any chemistry context in Wikipedia, sulfur is to be spelled with an F - see Wikipedia:Naming conventions (chemistry)#Element names.
I'm a chemist, I'm English, and I always spell sulfur with an F because it is a standardised spelling. I think visitors to this article and any other in Wikipedia should stop requesting spelling changes, accept WP:CHEMISTRY's decision and get on with their lives. In fact, I think the spelling sulphur will become increasingly marginalised over time until it disappears.
The SO2 in the atmosphere doesn't make H2SO4 it makes H2SO3? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tjbroom ( talk • contribs) 21:48, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
I think the 2SO2+O2 --> 2SO3 reaction is catalysed by the UV rays in the atmosphere. Much like in venus where the reaction SO2+CO2-->SO3+CO happens Alecjw ( talk) 23:41, 2 August 2009 (UTC)
Does anyone know what this ion is called? It is mentioned in the article Ultramarine. RSido 03:51, 20 October 2007 (UTC)
In the article it says that S7 is responsible for the yellow colour of sulfur. I am working on an allotropes of sulfur article and none of my references back this up. Does anyone know any different? Axiosaurus 21:45, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
What's the oxidation number of the sulfur in Disulfur Heptoxide? I thought it's 7... -- 24.40.202.246 ( talk) 02:00, 6 January 2008 (UTC)
Sulfoxides have the form R-S(=O)-R′. A common sulfoxide is DMSO. This is the sulfur equivalent of ketones, right? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.203.58.1 ( talk) 18:28, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
Does it? 88.107.22.193 ( talk) 20:28, 8 April 2008 (UTC)
in the following sentence "Hydrogen sulfide is toxic. Although very pungent at first, it quickly deadens the sense of smell, so potential victims may be unaware of its presence until death or other symptoms occur." could one possibly be aware of his/her looming death? is it possible to be aware of ones death after one is dead ? I mean is there an afterlife ? Jeroje ( talk) 11:22, 20 November 2008 (UTC)
How many times does it need to be mentioned that Hydrogen Sulfide is the "rotten egg" smell? I merely skimmed the article and saw it three times. Someone please tidy this thing up. - 216.191.79.10 ( talk) 16:11, 16 April 2009 (UTC)
Shouldn't Sulfur also be in Category:Biology and pharmacology of chemical elements ? Eldin raigmore ( talk) 18:37, 16 May 2009 (UTC)
As far as I can see metastable isomers should not be added to the numbers of isotopes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by SimonGjer ( talk • contribs) 12:57, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
I read where solid Sufur, if left in a room, will start to flake off gradually due to thermal shock from changes in room temperature. Is this true? Jokem ( talk) 22:25, 4 December 2009 (UTC)