Salt is ubiquitous. Even if you have to watch your salt intake because of high blood pressure or some other medical condition, it still shows up in your food. In the country, people put out huge blocks of salt for cattle and to attract deer. This amazing mineral has a lot of uses, comes in quite a few forms, and has a very interesting history.
Identification
Salt is the common name for the mineral halite. Its chemical formula is NaCl, sodium chloride. In its solid form it is a clear cubic crystal. Not only does it exist naturally in sea water from which it can be processed; there are also salt deposits underground that people mine for rock salt.
History
Salt is so valuable that it was used for money in the ancient Chinese and Mediterranean cultures. It was also used as a weapon. When salt is plowed into a field, the ground becomes infertile so salting conquered cities was a way to punish them in the ancient world. Carthage, defeated by Rome in the Punic Wars, was salted as a means to prevent it from rising again. Because of their key roles as salt trading centers, the Italian cities of Genoa, Pisa and Venice became powerful. In the United States, the need for a water route to transport salt economically led to the development of the Erie Canal. The modern leading salt producing countries are China and the United States. Five states produce the most salt for the United States. Louisiana produces the most. It is followed by Texas, New York, Ohio and Kansas.
Features
Underground salt deposits are mined in a room and pillar method. The mineral is excavated and the cavity that remains is a room supported by central pillars of salt. Twenty percent of the salt mined goes to make soda and soda ash to manufacture glass and soap. Forty-five percent of the salt mined goes to make chlorine products to produce paper, plastic, pesticides, cleaning fluid and anti-freeze. The winter road crews use 20 percent of the salt mined to de-ice the streets and highways. Only 5 percent of the salt mined goes for food.
Considerations
The salt that comes out of a mine is not ready to be used as table salt. It has to be ground to a very fine granulated powder and then mixed with another chemical, such as calcium carbonate, to make it flow freely from the salt shakers. Some of the the salt is iodized, or treated with either potassium iodide or sodium iodide to prevent people from getting goiter. Goiter is caused by an iodine deficiency. It is a disease that causes swollen necks. Salt cannot be stored in the body so people must eat a few grains every day to keep their electrolytes in balance.
Expert Insight
Salt even influenced our language. The Latin word for salt, "sal," is the root of our word salary. People who are competent are said to be "worth their salt." It also impacts our mythology and sacred texts. The Roman goddess of health was named Salus, again incorporating the root word for salt. Biblical references to salt include the most famous one in which Lot's wife, who had been warned against looking back at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, did look back. Her penalty was to be turned into a pillar of salt.
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