Basics and Discovery of Atmospheric Chemicals - Air Pollution and Global Warming: History, Science, and Solutions - page 19

Figure 1.20. Drawing of destruction of Priestley's house, library, and laboratory, Fair Hill, Birmingham, 1791.
Edgar Fahs Smith Collection, University of Pennsylvania Library.

aproduct of chlorine reactions in the upper atmosphere.
NO 2 (g) and SO 2 (g) are both precursors of acid depo-
sition. NH 3 (g) is a major aerosol particle precursor in
photochemical smog.

wonaNobel Prize for isolating fluorine and inventing
the electric arc furnace. Today, HF(g) is a product of
chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere involving
anthropogenically emitted fluorine compounds.

1.2.2.11. Hydrofluoric Acid (Gas)
Ameticulous artist at his craft, Scheele also discov-
ered hydrofluoric acid gas[HF(g)] in 1773. Scheele
named HF(g) “fluor acid” after the crystal mineral
fluorspar [CaF 2 (s), fluorite], which contains it. The
name fluorspar was coined in 1529 by Georgius Agri-
cola from the Latin and French word fluere ,which
means “flow” or “flux,” because fluorspar appeared to
flow. Elemental fluorine (F) was isolated from HF(g)
only in 1886 by French chemist Henri Moissan (1852-
1907). Prior to that time, at least two chemists died from
toxic exposure trying to isolate F from HF(g). Moissan

1.2.2.12. Chlorine (Gas)
In 1774, Scheele discovered chlorine gas [Cl 2 (g)], and
thus the element chlorine (Cl), by reacting dissolved
hydrochloric acid [HCl(aq)] with pyrolusite [MnO 2 (s)].
Chlorine gas is a dense, odorous, greenish-yellow, cor-
rosive, toxic gas that chokes its victims' lungs. It also
bleaches green grass to white. He called it “dephlogisti-
cated marine acid gas.” Lavoisier changed the name to
“oxymuriatic acid” because he incorrectly believed that
it contained oxygen and chlorine. In 1810, the name was
changed to chlorine, the “green gas,” by Sir Humphry
Davy, who showed that chlorine was an element and