history of arsenic
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The word arsenic has its origin in the Syriac word ܠܐ ܙܐܦܢܝܐ (al) zarniqa,[28] from the Persian word زرنيخ zarnikh, meaning "yellow" (literally "gold-colored") and hence "(yellow) orpiment". It was adopted into Greek as arsenikon (ἀρσενικόν), a form that is folk etymology, being the neuter form of the Greek word arsenikos (ἀρσενικός), meaning "male", "virile". The Greek word was adopted in Latin as arsenicum, which in French became arsenic, from which the English word arsenic is taken.[28] Arsenic sulfides (orpiment, realgar) and oxides have been known and used since ancient times.[29] Zosimos describes roasting sandarach (realgar) to obtain cloud of arsenic (arsenic trioxide), which he then reduces to metallic arsenic.[30] As the symptoms of arsenic poisoning were somewhat ill-defined, it was frequently used for murder until the advent of the Marsh test, a sensitive chemical test for its presence. (Another less sensitive but more general test is the Reinsch test.) Owing to its use by the ruling class to murder one another and its potency and discreetness, arsenic has been called the "poison of kings" and the "king of poisons".
During the Bronze Age, arsenic was often included in bronze, which made the alloy harder (so-called "arsenical bronze").Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great, 1193–1280) is believed to have been the first to isolate the element from a compound in 1250, by heating soap together with arsenic trisulfide.[34] In 1649, Johann Schröder published two ways of preparing arsenic.[35] Crystals of elemental (native) arsenic are found in nature, although rare. Cadet's fuming liquid (impure cacodyl), often claimed as the first synthetic organometallic compound, was synthesized in 1760 by Louis Claude Cadet de Gassicourt by the reaction of potassium acetate with arsenic tride. In the Victorian era, "arsenic" ("white arsenic" or arsenic trioxide) was mixed with vinegar and chalk and eaten by women to improve the complexion of their faces, making their skin paler to show they did not work in the fields. Arsenic was also rubbed into the faces and arms of women to "improve their complexion". The accidental use of arsenic in the adulteration of foodstuffs led to the Bradford sweet poisoning in 1858, which resulted in around 20 deaths. Two pigments based on arsenic have been widely used since their discovery – Paris Green and Scheele's Green. After arsenic's toxicity became widely known, they were less often used as pigments, so these compounds were more often used as insecticides. In the 1860s, an arsenic byproduct of dye production, London Purple – a solid consisting of a mixture of arsenic trioxide, aniline, lime, and ferrous oxide, which is insoluble in water and very toxic by inhalation and ingestion[38] – was widely used, but Paris Green, another arsenic-based dye, was later substituted for it.[39] With better understanding of the toxicology mechanism, two other compounds were used starting in the 1890s.[40] Arsenite of lime and arsenate of lead were used widely as insecticides until the discovery of DDT in 1942. |
See Some Examples
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