Page 5 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Indeed, sulphur is a part of all living tissues. Sulphur is fixed into proteins in plants, and acquired by animals who eat the plant materials.
Despite all of the unfortunate connections, sulphur
has long had a beneficial medicinal role. It was used both externally, in the form of ointments for the skin and vapours
to fumigate diseased places, or internally as the medicine called brimstone. “Brimstone and treacle” was commonly used in Victorian times, and was made famous in the stories of Charles Dickens. In the modern world, the group of drugs known as
sulphonamides are used as antimicrobials, one of the more important groups of medicines available today to cure
infections of the digestive system.
Because sulphur occurs in all living things,
it may be concentrated as tissues decay. This is why sulphur is a common (and unwelcome) component of
coal, oil and, to a lesser extent, natural gas. By burning these fossil fuels, sulphur
forms a range of gases, including sulphur dioxide, which may cause acid rain.
Sulphur dioxide is an important gas. As well as forming acid when dissolved in water, it is a bleaching agent used in
many industrial processes.
The main use of sulphur in large
volumes is to produce sulphuric acid, a major starting material in
the production of many fertilisers.
 Crystals of amber-coloured orthorhombic sulphur set on a rock groundmass. The other common variety, monoclinic sulphur, is shown on page 10.
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