h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It would be better to use stoichiometry.

The proportion of Na to Cl is 1:1 in atoms. One atom Na, one atom Cl. Now, Cl weighs more than Na, hence the proportion 61 to 39 - it's in weight percent. It's kinda like this: Take a big box. Put in 300 snooker balls and 300 bowling balls. The stoichiometry is the proportion of 1 snooker ball for every bowling ball, or 1:1. The picture looks different if you use weight percent. There is more weight comming from the bowling balls than from the snooker balls.

In the Entry it would be better to use stoichiometry, or to emphasize the weight-percent part.

HELL

HVL: See? Tango's not comming back until you relax... What happened? I assume you were having some discussion elsewhere. In that case, I think it's OT in this thread - I had a similar problem with you once, HVL. Remember? You had some remarks on the Gravity Entry, I misunderstood some things (the jet - rocket confusion) and instead of waiting for my response at the thread - or considering that I am not a native-english speaker - you took the matter to other threads... It has all settled down, as it was just a technicality, and a linguistic shortcoming of my part (I would still defend the centrifugal-force thing, though... But we'll have to drink a beer together to settle that.) ~ So... Why don't you settle your matters with Tango at your personal spaces? Why do you say he not honest? I wouldn't post these kind of accusations to this thread unless it was really serious. Plus you are not giving other readers any background information, so everybody goes Your personal problems with Tango are certainly OT here.

HELL

No takers for the city of Salt then? Darn, shouldn't hootoo late at night!

All that biblical research by the way was done on an aged Handspring Visor with a searchable bible cartridge in the slot. Hours of fun! All refs to King James version.

I have been forced, on pain of suspension of my account, to withdraw my request for an apology from Tango.

My mistake was to treat him like an adult. It is not a mistake I shall make again.

H.

?????

HVL: I don't understand anything.

HELL

Tango, are you still working on this one? Hell had some worthwhile comments a few posts back, but it is looking pretty close.

Yes, i have one more exam, so i should be able to do some work on it soon.

Tango

Table salt (at least that sold by Leslie, which dehydrates salt from the San Francisco Bay near where I grew up) is never just NaCl. It is very common for there to be a chemical added that makes the salt flow more freely, and another that keeps it from absorbing moisture from the air. Leslie makes an extra effort to make sure that the salt they sell as table salt doesn't have other oceanic salts in it.

They do sell salt as Sea Salt, and this has other chemical salts in it. In my opinion, it tastes better. Potassium salts have a zing that is quite noticeable to the human palate out of proportion to their concentration. I have no idea that they might be less healthy, except if you buy your sea salt from an organic company (not Leslie) you are getting some actual ocean sediment in your salt as they do not redissolve it before they mill it.

I also use French Fry salt. It has a finer crystal, and has crystal that are either milled or deliberately grown in such a way that it sticks to food more easily. Perhaps it is chemically the same, but it sure uses and tastes different.

PQ has left out an interesting geological feature of mined salt, is that the deposition processes and metamorphic processes that leave behind plutons large enough to mine tend to purify the salt compared to the surrounding strata. Salt-of-the-earth is more likely to be quite pure NaCl than evaporated salt and to need less refining than evaporated salt..

If the article is about salt instead of the chemical, I think it would be interesting to add: Lot's Wife, the Inca killing people in floating salt houses, keeping your salt flowing freely by putting rice in it, throwing salt over your shoulder, the fairy tale about the salt mill at the bottom of the sea, the many words in the english language that are salt related (including taking this whole PR thread with a grain of salt, nay, a cube of halite!) the history of how such a necessity for life, salt, has had it's scarcity and value changed from that equivalent to gold to the cheap and available thing it is now.

Off topic: I have kept freshwater tropical fish for 20 years, and have known some marine tropical fish keepers. I don't know chemistry from college many years ago, but I do know practical results. Yes, it does matter which salt you use, because almost no commercially available salt is exactly NaCl, and fish biology can be sensitive. Saltwater hobbyists pay good money for properly formulated oceanic salts to keep their expensive livestock in good health, and they aren't fools.

This article is about NaCl, any mentions of other salts will be only in passing.

Tango

This has potential, but you should pay attention to some of the earlier comments.
Your spelling and punctuation could use some work (but hey, couldn't everybody's?) That's not as big a deal though.
Sodium Chloride isn't a form of salt, it is one specific kind. As you state, a salt is a combination of a metal and a non-metal, the word form just makes it seem like a state of salt, like a state of matter(solid liquid gas plasma).
Some of the sections (particularly "What is salt" are loaded up and dragged down with technical jargon that the average layperson may have trouble digesting. Try to lighten it up a bit.
And for crying out loud, have a good time doing it!
Nothing is worth doing if it's too boring!
Remember, keep your head on your shoulders and your feet firmly planted on the sky!
Intersturber

I will of course pay attention to previous comments *when* i get around to editing it. If you guys would just stop posting, this could drop down the list, and you could happily ignore it until i have time to finish it.

Tango

What, when harassing others is so much fun! oh, alright, do what every guide researcher is born with an instinct to do best, procrastinate(well, most of us)

What, when harassing others is so much fun! oh, alright, do what every guide researcher is born with an instinct to do best, procrastinate(well, most of us)

*holds megaphone to appropriate orifice*

Right, now I've got your attention:

Calm down guys! I've looked through, and if Tango acts on the info
you've all given him, then this will be virtually ripe for the picking. In the meantime, please give him the space to work.


Whoami?
Scout

*watches time pass*

Tango has promised he'll fix this on his return from Hong Kong in a couple of weeks.

Whoami?

What, he doesn't have 'Net access in Hong Kong?

I did have net access in HK, i just had better things to be doing than surfing h2g2. (, i never thought i'd say that!)

I'll get onto it soon. Too jet lagged at the moment.

Tango

Welcome back.

Almost 100 posts for an entry about an apparently simple substance Never underestimate the knowledge and appetite for a discussion of PR regulars


Scout

* wander in *


* nicks post #100 *