Why Do We Salt Roads in the Winter?

Morning Salt Bae!

Not what I was expecting…

But great point, Durd!

Why do we salt roads in the winter?

Cause look at Durd:

Well, he’s in New York not California..

And it’s January.

Ya…

At the risk of stating the obvious, when it’s below 32°F or 0°C outside, water freezes!

The roads are ice.

So in order to keep Durd from crashing, we gotta melt it!

But, how??

Okay…let’s try flame throwers for street lamps:

Hm. Nope.

What about ice-eating penguins?

Creates the same slippery problem…

And wtf, penguins don’t eat ice.

Okay let’s do…

~Table salt~

Ya! Sodium Chloride.

See, when salt is added to ice,

it starts to dissolve in water and break apart.

So you’re left sodium (Na+ ions) separated from chloride (Cl- ions).

Now, the positive sodium ions attract the oxygen atoms away from H₂O water.

And the negative chloride ions attract water’s hydrogens:

Because of this, it’s harder to get the hydrogens and oxygens back together tightly enough to form solid H₂O…ice!

The freezing point of the ice is lowered by salt.

So the streets stay…liquid!

Stay Warm,
Henry & Dylan 🌈

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