Allotropes of phosphorus Allotropes of phosphorus Elemental phosphorus can exist in several allotropes, the most common of which are white and red solids. Solid violet and black allotropes are also known. Gaseous phosphorus exists as diphosphorus and atomic phosphorus. White phosphorus, yellow phosphorus or simply tetraphosphorus (P) exists as molecules made up of four atoms in a tetrahedral structure. The tetrahedral arrangement results in ring strain and instability. The molecule is described as consisting of six single P–P bonds. Two different crystalline forms are known. The α form is defined as the standard state of the element, but is actually metastable under standard
Red-violet displayed at the right. "Violet-red", a bright tone of red-violet, has been a Crayola color since 1958. Red-purple is the color that is called "Rojo-Purpura" (the Spanish word for "red-purple") in the "Guía de coloraciones" ("Guide to colorations") by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a color dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm. Although "red-purple" is a seldom used color name in English, in Spanish it is regarded one of the major tones of purple. The color blush is displayed at the right. The first recorded use of "blush" as a color name in