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- The chemical name for salt is Sodium Chloride (NaCl), composed of the elements sodium and chloride. Chemically, it is 60.663% elemental
chlorine (Cl) and 39.337% sodium (Na). The atomic weight of elemental chlorine is 35.4527 and that of sodium is 22.989768.
- The mineral form of salt, occuring naturally in many parts of the world, is halite. Natural salt also occurs as mixed evaporates on the
Earth's surface, often in the form of the dried-up residue of ancient seas; an example of this are the famed Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
- Salt dissolves more rapidly in cold water than hot water.
- Sodium chloride crystals are cubic in form. Table salt consists of tiny cubes tightly bound together through ionic bonding of the sodium and
chloride ions.
- Salt varies in color from colorless, when pure, to white, gray or brownish, typical of rock salt (halite).
- Salt intake is essential to the health of humans & animals.
- The word "salary" was derived from the Latin term "salarium" which was the name for a soldier's pay in the army of ancient Rome. The pay
included a large ration of salt, which was a spice of high value and also a medium for exchange; thus the origin of such expressions as "salt
of the earth" and "worth your salt."
- The proper term "salt" is actually an ancient word, occurring in various forms in earliest English and in related languages. The formal
mineral name for crystalline sodium chloride is halite, derived from the Greek word hals meaning salt. The mineral name was given by
E.F. Glocker in 1847.
- Seawater has lots of salt; it contains an average of 2.7% (by weight) NaCl, or 78 million metric tons per cubic kilometer, an inexhaustible supply
(note: seawater also contains other dissolved solids; salt represents about 77% of the Total Dissolved Solids).
- Salt has been proven to arrives on Earth from outer space via meteors. The presence of salt on the planet Mars makes scientists think life
may exist there. In fact, because salt deposits have been found to have encapsulated ancient microorganisms including bacteria, many scientists
speculate that salt-loving bacteria live in underground water on Mars — as they have survived in suspended animation for 250 million years
in Texas).
- Surface salt depositions and man-made saltworks can be seen from space.
- Sodium chloride is sold in several different particle sizes (gradation) and forms, depending on the intended end use. Discrete crystals can
be seen in rock salt used for de-icing. Fine granules are typical of table salt and even finer popcorn salt. Kosher salt, pickling salt and ice
cream salt are slightly coarser. Small compressed pellets are used in water softeners and large salt blocks are used as salt licks for livestock.
For more information about Salt and the Salt Industry, visit the Salt Institute, the foremost source of information about salt
(http://www.saltinstitute.org).
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