white phosphorus
Burns on contact
White phosphorus is a waxy, pale yellow form of the element phosphorus that ignites spontaneously in air and burns intensely.
It appears in military contexts as an incendiary weapon and smoke-screen agent: The report documented white phosphorus burns on civilians.
Contact with skin causes severe chemical burns that reignite if exposed to oxygen.
Often abbreviated WP or called "willie pete" in military slang.
Military weapons and ammunition
- incendiaryCausing or designed for burning
- ammunitionWeapon projectiles and charges
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- shellsProtective outer layers
ordnance · weaponry · WP · mortar · grenades · warfare · bombardment · ballistics
Capable of causing harm
- poisonousCapable of causing death
- corrosiveDestroys by chemical action
- dangerousApt to cause harm
- flammableProne to ignition
volatile · carcinogenic · mutagenic · teratogenic · inhalation · harmful · burns · necrosis
Sudden bright burst
- signalMessage-conveying cue
- illuminationProvision of light
- brightnessDegree of light emitted
- glowSteady, soft light
Basic, of natural forces
- moleculeBonded atomic group
- reactiveTending to respond
- oxidationLosing electrons chemically
- phosphorescenceHeatless delayed light emission
chemiluminescence · valency · electronegativity · insoluble · polyatomic · combustible · phosphoric · hygroscopic
Act of hiding something
- screeningEvaluative selection process
- smokeAirborne combustion byproduct
- cloudAtmospheric water vapor mass
- veilFabric that obscures
cover · masking · tactical · marking · signaling · battlefield · deployment · dispersion
munitions
Military weapons and ammunition
- incendiaryCausing or designed for burning
- ammunitionWeapon projectiles and charges
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
shells · ordnance · weaponry · WP · mortar · grenades · warfare · bombardment · ballistics · barrage
toxic
Capable of causing harm
flammable · volatile · carcinogenic · mutagenic · teratogenic · inhalation · harmful · burns · necrosis · lethal
flare
Sudden bright burst
- signalMessage-conveying cue
- illuminationProvision of light
- brightnessDegree of light emitted
glow · luminescence · tracer · night operations · star shell
elemental
Basic, of natural forces
phosphorescence · chemiluminescence · valency · electronegativity · insoluble · polyatomic · combustible · phosphoric · hygroscopic · crystalline
concealment
Act of hiding something
- screeningEvaluative selection process
- smokeAirborne combustion byproduct
- cloudAtmospheric water vapor mass
veil · cover · masking · tactical · marking · signaling · battlefield · deployment · dispersion · canister
- Phosphorus Allotropes
- weaponsknife, gun, sword, swords, rifle
- hazardous chemicalsacid, chlorine, fluorine, bromine, hydrofluoric acid
- ordnancebomb, grenade, landmine, mine, mortar round
- poisonsarsenic, cyanide, hemlock, strychnine, belladonna
- atrocitiesHolocaust, genocide, massacre, massacres, ethnic cleansing
white phosphorushumanitarian aid
Crisis relief for sufferers
medical supplies · food drops · protective equipment · non-lethal weapons · smoke grenades
white, whiten, whites, whiteness, whiteout, white-collar, whitened, whitener, whiteboard