Salt | Chemistry, History, Occurrence, Manufacture, Uses, & Facts ...
Oct 30, 2024 · Salt, also called sodium chloride, mineral substance of great importance to human and animal health, as well as to industry. The mineral form halite, or rock salt, is sometimes called common salt to distinguish it from a class of chemical compounds called salts. Learn more about salt in this article.
Sodium | Facts, Uses, & Properties | Britannica
Nov 16, 2024 · The most important and familiar sodium compound is sodium chloride, or common salt, NaCl. Most other sodium compounds are prepared either directly or indirectly from sodium chloride, which occurs in seawater, in natural brines, and as rock salt.
Salt - Occurrence, Chemistry, Uses | Britannica
Oct 30, 2024 · Salt - Occurrence, Chemistry, Uses: Though the material that gives seawater its salty flavour is composed of many substances, sodium chloride, or common salt, is by far the predominant compound.
Salt | Definition & Properties | Britannica
Salt, in chemistry, substance produced by the reaction of an acid with a base. A salt consists of the positive ion (cation) of a base and the negative ion (anion) of an acid. The reaction between an acid and a base is called a neutralization reaction.
Molecule | Definition, Examples, Structures, & Facts | Britannica
Oct 21, 2024 · Molecule, a group of two or more atoms that form the smallest identifiable unit into which a pure substance can be divided and still retain the composition and chemical properties of that substance. Learn more about the properties and structures of molecules in this article.
Water | Definition, Chemical Formula, Structure, Molecule, & Facts ...
Nov 3, 2024 · Water, substance composed of the chemical elements hydrogen and oxygen and existing in gaseous, liquid, and solid states. It is one of the most plentiful of compounds and has the important ability to dissolve many other substances, which was essential to the development of …
Why Does Salt Melt Ice? | Britannica - Encyclopedia Britannica
Essentially, the salt makes it harder for the water molecules to bond together in their rigid structure. In water, salt is a solute, and it will break into its elements. So, if you’re using table salt, also known as sodium chloride (NaCl), to melt ice, the salt will dissolve into separate sodium ions and chloride ions.
Seawater | Composition, Properties, Distribution, & Facts | Britannica
Nov 8, 2024 · The salt content in seawater is indicated by salinity (S), which is defined as the amount of salt in grams dissolved in one kilogram of seawater and expressed in parts per thousand.
Chemical compound | Definition, Examples, & Types | Britannica
Oct 18, 2024 · The substances mentioned above exemplify the two basic types of chemical compounds: molecular and ionic. Methane and water are composed of molecules; that is, they are molecular compounds. Sodium chloride, on the other hand, contains ions; it is an ionic compound.
Salinity | Definition, Ocean, Unit, Examples, & Facts | Britannica
Salinity is typically measured with a salinometer, which calculates the amount or weight of salt present in a specific volume of water. This can be expressed in units such as parts per million (ppm) and grams of salt per kilogram of water (called …