972 
itself as a designation of the stable solid modification of the 
phosphorus ’). 
Messrs. Conen and Ormw *) thought that the violet phosphorus was 
a simple substance, and that the red phosphorus had to be taken 
as a solid solution of white phosphorus in violet phosphorus, the 
concentration of which would be a temperature function, or in 
other words that the red phosphorus would be a state of internal 
equilibrium. 
It has now, however, appeared most convincingly that this view 
is erroneous, and that the violet modification of the phosphorus, 
ie. the wnary stable form of the phosphorus, just as the unary 
metastable form, the white phosphorus, is a state of internal equi- 
librium, and that what is understood by red phosphorus is an in- 
termediate metastable state, which is not im internal equilibrium. 
This intermediate state, which, therefore, does not occur in the 
unary system, is a state of the pseudo system, and consists of one 
or more mixed crystals. | 
That the phosphorus with which Messrs. ConeN and Orme worked, 
was no state of internal equilibrium, one of us (Smits) *) demonstrated 
already before by pointing out that it follows from their experiments 
that when red phosphorus was brought from higher to lower tem- 
perature, the specific gravity was not reduced, though the state of 
equilibrium at a lower temperature would have to correspond to a 
smaller specifie gravity. 
4. Transition point of the white phosphorus. 
While thus the red phosphorus has disappeared from the unary 
system of this element, this vacancy has again been filled by 
BRIDGMAN *), who found lately that the white phosphorus exhibits a 
transition point at — 80°, where the regular white phosphorus as- 
sumes a hexagonal form. It follows therefore from this that the 
phosphorus possesses a metastable transition point. 
5. Brineman’s black phosphorus. 
BRIDGMAN speaks further of black phosphorus, which he has obtained 
by subjecting white phosphorus at 200° to a pressure of from 12000 
1) In our previous communication we thouglit we had to retain the denomina- 
tion of red phosphorus, but it appeared that this might give rise to all kinds of 
mistaken ideas. 
4) Zeef. Phys. Chem. 71, 4 (1900): 
5) Z. f. phys. Chem. 76, 421 (1911). 
4) Journ. Amer. Chem. Soc. 36, 1344 (1914). 
