15Solid
P 30.974 Atomic mass · uNonmetals
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with symbol P and atomic number 15. As an element, phosphorus exists in two major forms—white phosphorus and red phosphorus—but due to its high reactivity, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Earth. Instead phosphorus-containing minerals are almost always present in their maximally oxidised state, as inorganic phosphate rocks.
Discovery 1669 (Hennig Brand)
K2L8M5
Physical properties
Values for the element in its standard state.
- Density
- 1.823g/cm³
- Melting point
- 317K
- Boiling point
- 554K
- Atomic radius
- 106pm
- Bonding type
- Covalent network
- Molar heat
- 23.824J/(mol·K)
Inside the atom
Electron arrangement and the energy behind its behavior.
Full electron configuration
1s, 2 electrons; 2s, 2 electrons; 2p, 6 electrons; 3s, 2 electrons; 3p, 3 electrons;
[Ne] represents 10 core electrons. The full view shows them explicitly.
15 electrons Orbital order preserved from source
- Electronegativity
- 2.19Pauling scale
- First ionization energy
- 1,012kJ/mol
- Electron affinity
- 72kJ/mol
- Van der Waals radius
- 180pm
P PhosphorusAtomic number 15
1,012kJ/mol
Atomic numberGaps indicate unavailable data
About phosphorus
- Appearance
- Colourless, waxy white, yellow, scarlet, red, violet, black
- Discovery
- 1669 (Hennig Brand)
- Data source
- Read the reference
A missing value means it is unavailable in this reference dataset. Values can vary with measurement method and conditions.