White phosphorus is a colourless-to-white waxy solid, with a garlic like smell that is flammable in air and glows in the dark. Phosphorus is a non-metallic chemical element with symbol P and atomic number 15. As a mineral, it is almost always present in its maximally oxidised state, as inorganic phosphate rocks. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms- white phosphorus and red phosphorus- but due to its high reactivity, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Earth.
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