What is plastic sulphur? Why it is elastic?
Answers
When molten sulphur is heated up to boiling and then poured with a thin stream into cold water, it turns into elastic rubber like material which is called plastic sulphur. It is soft, sticky rubber like material. It on standing, is converted into opaque brittle sold containing some rhombic sulphur.
The plastic sulphur is composed of long chins of sulphur atoms coiled up. The elasticity is due to uncoiling of long sulphur chains and then recoiling of chains by release of tension ( stress ).
Answer:
Sulphur in an amorphous form, usually obtained by pouring boiling Sulphur into cold water, and made up of long chains of Sulphur atoms.
Explanation:
These Sulphur chains can be linked together to form a solid plastic or rubber with the help of other organic molecules. This process is known as inverse vulcanization because it is the polar opposite of the vulcanization process used to make rubber from carbon. Sulphur is an octahedral ring in its yellow powdery form. This ring is broken up by heat. When molten Sulphur is immersed in water to cool, it forms a series of covalent bonds.
Plastic Sulphur Elastic in Nature:
Because Sulphur is yellow, powdery form is an octahedral ring, plastic Sulphur is elastic. Heat causes the ring to shatter. When we immerse molten Sulphur in water, it forms a series of covalent chains (or) bonds, similar to a carbon polymer.
- The elasticity of plastic Sulphur can be attributed to this. Plastic (or amorphous) Sulphur is an allotropic form of Sulphur.
- When molten Sulphur is poured into cold water, it forms gamma–Sulphur, which is a tough, elastic substance. It's a liquid that's been supercooled.
- Plastic Sulphur is made by rapidly cooling molten Sulphur to near-boiling temperatures and then pouring it into cold water. Sulphur ribbons that are yellow and rubbery form. They are extremely soft and easily stretchable.