Abstract
THE discovery of phosphorus was one of those which is associated with the transitional period when magic and science flourished to some extent side by side, and when the borderline between them was not very well defined. The discovery seems to have been made by the alchemist Brand, of Hamburg. But in those days scientific discoveries were often cherished as valuable secrets, not so much for their commercial value as for the sense of superior knowledge and power which their exclusive possession was supposed to give. Scientific secrets are sometimes jealously guarded now, but not for this reason. When reticence is observed, it is for the less romantic motive of commercial advantage. In the absence of this motive, the scientific men of to-day tell all they know, and tell it without delay.
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RAYLEIGH, L. The Glow of Phosphorus. Nature 114, 612–614 (1924). https://doi.org/10.1038/114612a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/114612a0