phosphine
a colorless, poisonous, ill-smelling, flammable gas, PH3.
any of certain organic derivatives of this compound.
Origin of phosphine
1Words Nearby phosphine
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use phosphine in a sentence
Astronomers studying the clouds of Venus announced the discovery of trace amounts of phosphine, which on Earth is belched out by volcanoes and some organisms.
The team used computer models to explore all other mechanisms that might produce phosphine in Venus’s harsh environment and came up empty.
On Earth, phosphine is a chemical produced by some kinds of bacteria that live in oxygen-poor conditions.
Not finding life on Venus would be disappointing. But it’s good science at work. | Neel Patel | October 31, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewIf Venus’ spectrum could be drawn as a straight line across all wavelengths of light, phosphine would make a deep valley at that wavelength.
Doubts over a ‘possible sign of life’ on Venus show how science works | Lisa Grossman | October 28, 2020 | Science NewsThe chances of detecting phosphine on that flyby are still slim, but not zero.
A spacecraft en route to Mercury just caught this fresh new look at Venus | Neel Patel | October 15, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
Under the name of “phosphine” this colouring-matter is still used, especially for the dyeing of leather.
Coal | Raphael MeldolaGive the formula for the salt which phosphine forms with hydriodic acid.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry | William McPhersonAbsence of change shows phosphine, quinoline yellow, or a natural dye-stuff.
The Manufacture of Paper | Robert Walter SindallThe acetylene prepared from this substance has a very characteristic odor due to impurities, the chief of these being phosphine.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry | William McPhersonExtremely dangerous explosive mixtures may be made by combining phosphine and air or oxygen.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection | Alexander Wynter Blyth
British Dictionary definitions for phosphine
/ (ˈfɒsfiːn) /
a colourless flammable gas that is slightly soluble in water and has a strong fishy odour: used as a pesticide. Formula: PH 3
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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