Hydrogen + Oxygen + Phosphorus
Life's energy currency and the basis of fertiliser
Summary
From hydrogen (H), oxygen (O) and phosphorus (P) atoms you can make eleven different substances: from water to white phosphorus, and from phosphoric acid to fertiliser salts. ATP, life's energy currency, the backbone of DNA and half of modern agriculture come from these three atoms.
In depth
After carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, phosphorus is the fifth most critical element for life. The phosphate groups (PO₄³⁻) in the backbone of DNA and RNA carry genetic information. Your body's energy currency, ATP (adenosine triphosphate), contains three phosphate groups; each time one of these bonds is broken, about 30 kJ/mol of energy is released, the energy that contracts your muscles and lets your brain think. In modern agriculture, fertilisers based on phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) are the foundation of the world's food production; phosphorus is watched as a strategic resource because it can run out. Phosphorus can show valences of 3 and 5 and build highly connected structures, which is why the variety of its molecules is even richer than nitrogen's.
Rate Hydrogen + Oxygen + Phosphorus
What did you think of this content? Click the stars to leave your rating.
Leave a Comment and Rating