white phosphorus - aka
Willie Pete , is a
chemical weapon that use one of the common allotropes of the chemical element phosphorus.
White phosphorus is used in smoke, illumination, & incendiary munitions, & is commonly the burning element of tracer ammunition. Other common names for white phosphorus munitions include WP & the slang terms Willie Pete & Willie Peter, which are derived from William Peter, the WWII phonetic alphabet rendering of the letters WP. White phosphorus is pyrophoric (it is ignited by contact with air) burns fiercely; it can ignite cloth, fuel, ammunition, & other combustibles.
It has to be stored under water when not in use ,
The Only way to put it out is to smother it .
If you were to get it on your skin it would burn
You down to your bones & teeth .
When dropped by airplanes & helicopters it's
Reminiscent of fireworks but raining down in
Greyish
white streaks .
In WW II it was used as a smokescreen.
White phosphorus ignites when interacting with oxygen, releasing a large amount of smoke during combustion. The military can use the curtain to mask their troops movements.
Example:
white phosphorus has been used in
WW II , Kabul, Fallujah ,
Syria, Afghanistan , the gaza strip ... pretty much the middle east.
It is comparable to agent orange & napalm which was used in Vietnam
All 3 are outlawed by the Geneva convention to not be used
On civilians during war time .
the burning temperature of
phosphorus is 800–2500 °C; it sticks to various surfaces, including skin & clothes; the burning substance is difficult to extinguish.
White phosphorus can cause deep burns down to the bones, & remnants of the substance in the tissues can ignite again after the initial
Treatment.