sulfur

[suhl-fer]

noun

1. Chemistry.,  Also a nonmetallic element that exists in several forms, the ordinary one being a yellow rhombic crystalline solid, and that burns with a blue flame and a suffocating odor: used especially in making gunpowder and matches, in medicine, in vulcanizing rubber, etc. S; 32.064; 16; 2.07 at 20° C.

2. sulphur.

sulfur

/ ˈsʌlfə /

noun

1. the US preferred spelling of sulphur

sulfur

1. A pale-yellow, brittle nonmetallic element that occurs widely in nature, especially in volcanic deposits, minerals, natural gas, and petroleum. It is used to make gunpowder and fertilizer, to vulcanize rubber, and to produce sulfuric acid. Atomic number 16; atomic weight 32.066; melting point (rhombic) 112.8°C; (monoclinic) 119.0°C; boiling point 444.6°C; specific gravity (rhombic) 2.07; (monoclinic) 1.957; valence 2, 4, 6.

2. See Periodic Table

Word History and Origins

Origin of sulfur¹

1300–50; Middle English sulphur < Latin sulpur, sulphur, sulfur brimstone, sulfur

Example Sentences

Officially incorporated as “Addison,” the town is known as Webster Springs after the sulfur waters that made it a tourist destination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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NO2 is emitted by ship engines and was unaffected by the IMO 2020 sulfur rules, making it a reliable marker of increased ship traffic.

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“We have a surplus of hydrogen compared to what’s necessary to make the methanol. We can use it to remove the sulfur from the Arctic heating fuel and make ultralow sulfur diesel,” he said.

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TMDs are built from stacked layers of a transition metal such as molybdenum and two layers of a chalcogen element like sulfur or selenium.

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Even worse, burning coal produces air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, that are real threats to human health.

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