What is brimstone commonly known as?

Sulfur, also spelled sulphur, is a nonmetallic chemical element and one of the most reactive of the elements. Pure sulfur is a tasteless, odourless, brittle solid that is pale yellow in colour, a poor conductor of electricity, and insoluble in water. It reacts with all metals except gold and platinum. Millions of tons of sulfur are produced each year, mostly for the manufacture of sulfuric acid, which is widely used in industry.

The history of sulfur is part of antiquity. Prehistoric humans used sulfur as a pigment for cave painting; one of the first recorded instances of the art of medication is in the use of sulfur as a tonic.

The combustion of sulfur had a role in Egyptian religious ceremonials as early as 4,000 years ago. “Fire and brimstone” references in the Bible are related to sulfur, suggesting that “hell’s fires” are fuelled by sulfur. The beginnings of practical and industrial uses of sulfur are credited to the Egyptians, who used sulfur dioxide for bleaching cotton as early as 1600 BCE.

About 85% of all the sulfur produced is converted into sulfuric acid, for which the largest single use is in the manufacture of fertilizers. Other important uses include the production of pigments, detergents, fibres, petroleum products, sheet metal, explosives, and storage batteries; hundreds of other applications are known. Sulfur not converted to sulfuric acid is used in making paper, insecticides, fungicides, dyestuffs, and numerous other products.