White Phosphorus

[NWPA]

My curiosity was once again tweeked by a novelty firework I was looking at. ( I have a lot of time on my hands ) They are called sliders, throw them on a hard surface and slide them around with your foot, they pop and sizzle, etc. When you cut or break one of these little sticks in half (about 1/8" dia. x 2" long approx. ) you can readily see smoke rising from the ends that were exposed. From my youth I recall watching White Phosphorus smoke rising when exposed to air before it ignited. I have never seen a firework item smoke like this when being dissected. Strange.