Elements salts

[Birt]

HI Abers
I am reading a book about the elements that mentions the "salts". Usually about solable insoluble salts.
What is meant by salts?

[theprof]

In simple terms, a salt may be defined as chemical compound formed as a result of a reaction between an acid and a base.

This reaction between an acid and a base is called a neutralisation reaction.

The majority of salts are solid at normal temperature and those that dissolve in water, release positive and negative ions called cations and anions respectively.

An example of a reaction between an acid and a base to form a salt is the one between hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide. When these two chemicals are mixed in solution, sodium chloride and water are formed. The sodium chloride is the salt:

HCl +NaOH = NaCl + H2O.

[kempie]

Furthermore, salts can be formed as the result of the reaction between an acid and a metal.

Metal + Acid → Salt + Hydrogen

Mg + H2SO4 → MgSO4 + H2

[theprof]

As kempie implies, salts can be formed via other types of chemical reaction other than the neutralisation reaction I discussed earlier. Here are the others:

A metal oxide may react with an acid to form a salt and water eg calcium oxide reacts with carbonic acid (carbon dioxide dissolved in water) to form calcium carbonate and water:
CaO + H2CO3 = CaCO3 + H2O

A salt may react with an acid to form a different salt and acid eg sodium chloride and sulphuric acid react when heated to form sodium sulphate and hydrogen chloride gas:
2NaCl + H2SO4 =Na2SO4 + 2HCl

As kempie says, a metal may react with a dilute acid to form a salt with the release of hydrogen gas eg Aluminium reacts with hydrochloric acid to form aluminium chloride and hydrogen:
2Al + 6HCl = 2AlCl3 + 3H2

Two salts may react with one another in solution to form two new salts eg silver nitrate solution when added to a test tube of sodium chloride solution react to form silver chloride (an insoluble precipitate) and sodium nitrate (in solution):
AgNO3 + NaCl =AgCl + NaNO3

A metal can also combine directly with a nonmetal to form a salt eg sodium (metal) reacts with chlorine gas to form sodium chloride:
2Na + Cl2 = 2NaCl

A base can react with a nonmetallic oxide to form a salt and water eg sodium hydroxide reacts with carbon dioxide to form sodium carbonate and water:
2NaOH + CO2 = Na2CO3 + H2O

[RATTER15]

And you can put it on your chips!!

[theprof]

Personally, I'd only recommend sodium chloride although if you want to be totally idle, you could try sodium acetate - salt and vinegar taste in one!

[heathfield]

Or use potassium chloride for your low-salt diet. Hi Prof - good hols?

[theprof]

hols? heathfield, what are they?

Right now I'm on my way to attend a meeting with the goverment department I work for on a part-time basis and carry out a quick facilities inspection. That should take me up to about 6.00pm tonight and I must remember not to leave my laptop on the train this time!

Then I've got a lovely evening ahead of me reading some reports and providing what is called "an expert opinion".

Tomorrow I'm back at the uni where our facilities are being used for some specialised research. I've also got planning meetings to attend regarding the next academic year. I'm also there to check the progress of building work, as we're having new facilities built. While there's various people subcontracted to supervise the work, I prefer to check it myself now and again as it would be too late to moan about it after the builders and laboratory fitters and apparatus suppliers have left.

I'm also acting as a consultant editor for a new biochemistry textbook and I've got three weeks to complete the job. I'm also in the middle of writing a paper with six colleagues from two american ivy-league universities for submission to a certain learned journal by the end of October.

Never mind. Do you know, I always fancied being a binman was I was younger - I often think about how much easier life would have been!

Ah yes, I've just remembered about holidays. The wife and I are off to West Wales with the two youngest children on 30th of August. for a few days. We love the coastline between Fishguard and New Quay and will probably visit Tenby as well.

Thanks for asking!

[Hamish]

Why the deadline on the journal submission theProf

[theprof]

It's scheduled to be the cover article in the January or February 2007 issue of the journal Hamish.

As I understand it, because of the scope and length of the article it requires a more detailed peer review and acceptance is due no later than the third week of November. At least that's what we've been told by the publishers and as you know, they lay the rules down.

There's also some issues over deadlines resulting from conditional funding (surprise, surprise) that I'm leaving my colleagues over the pond to sort out - I've had my fingers burnt over that sort of stuff in the past.

[heathfield]

Gee whiz, Prof - I hope you're being suitably recompensed for all that! (And not just with a couple of days in Wales). Enjoy!

[theprof]

I've got no choice but to work my fingers to the bone - the wife's told me she fancies a cruise next year!

[Hamish]

Which journal?

[theprof]

Under normal circumstances, I'd have no objection to disclosing the name of the journal to you Hamish.

The problem is that revealing the journal name would enable the inquisitive to identify me via EBSCO and suchlike - it wouldn't be that difficult seeing I'm the only British author and my name is the first below the article title.

Although my vice-chancellor (who I'm having lunch with at the moment) has no objection in principle to me revealing the name of the journal, I'm unable to tell if my masters at the government research agency where I work part-time would be so keen on me possibly compromising my position. I am bound by the OSA after all.

I'll look into it.