Salt, NaCl, Sodium Chloride.

[YYYY]

Twenty years ago Selenium was considered a poison; now many urologist see it helpful in prostrate cancer and assorted problems.

 

 

Michael

Sorry for the long list.

These are the selenides in Sea Water

 

hydrogen (I) selenide

lithium (I) selenide

beryllium (II) selenide

carbon (IV) selenide

sodium (I) selenide

magnesium (II) selenide

aluminium (III) selenide

phosphorus selenide

potassium (I) selenide

calcium (II) selenide

vanadium (IV) selenide

chromium (II) selenide

manganese (II) selenide

iron (II) selenide

nickel (II) selenide

copper (II) selenide

copper (I) selenide

zinc (II) selenide

gallium (II) selenide

gallium (III) selenide

germanium (II) selenide

germanium (IV) selenide

arsenic (III) selenide

rubidium (I) selenide

strontium (II) selenide

zirconium (IV) selenide

niobium (IV) selenide

molybdenum (IV) selenide

ruthenium (IV) selenide

rhodium (IV) selenide

palladium (II) selenide

palladium (IV) selenide

silver (I) selenide

cadmium (II) selenide

indium (II) selenide

indium (III) selenide

tin (II) selenide

tin (IV) selenide

antimony (III) selenide

caesium (I) selenide

barium (II) selenide

lanthanum (II) selenide

praseodymium (II) selenide

neodymium (II) selenide

samarium (III) selenide

europium (II) selenide

gadolinium (II) selenide

terbium (III) selenide

holmium (III) selenide

erbium (III) selenide

ytterbium (II) selenide

ytterbium (III) selenide

hafnium (IV) selenide

tantalum (IV) selenide

tungsten (IV) selenide

platinum (IV) selenide

gold (I, selenide

gold (III) selenide

mercury (II) selenide

thallium (I) selenide

lead (II) selenide

bismuth (III) selenide

thorium (IV) selenide

uranium (VI) selenide

[Mercedes Benzene]

Ever heard the expression "worth his salt"?

 

Roman soldiers I believe. Salt was vary valuable and desirable back then.

Soldiers were actually paid in salt!!

That's where the expression comes from.

Amazing.

[ronthepon]

Now I just had a little look at YYYY's long list. Won't one simply say that selenide radicals are present in the aqueous medium instead going to associate every other positive ion with it?

 

I mean that the selenide ions are present as... well ions in the aqueous medium. So can we say that those salts are present?

 

Just a doubt.

[hallenrm]

Dear YYYY,

 

I just remembered that in Homeopathy a cure for your kind of symptoms, is a regular dose of Nat Mur. Incidentally Nat Mur stands for sodium chloride, that is common salt only. According to Hahnemann the person who initiated Homeopathy, the cure for like symptoms is in like. Nat Mur a homeopathic medicine is a much diluted dose of salt.

 

I cannot vouch for the efficacy of this treatment, but there is indeed no harm in trying. It is not very expensive either, here in India it is rather inexpensive.

[Michaelangelica]

Ever heard the expression "worth his salt"?

 

Wonder where that came from.

Until relatively recently, salt was a very precious commodity. Roman soldiers were given money specifically to buy salt or were paid with salt, thus the word 'salary,' from the l*t*n 'salarium.' Salt became equated with wages, so a person not worth his salt did not give value for money.

 

WORTHY OF (WORTH) HIS SALT - ".Oddly, the modern expression dates only from the 19th century, probably originated by a classicist who was recalling the Roman practice (giving money for buying salt - "salarium"). Thus, in Frederick Marryat's 'The King's Own' (1830): 'The captain.is not worth his salt." From "Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Wings Books, Originally New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985).Another source says it is NOT related to salarium because people in the 19th century wouldn't be familiar with the practice. From "2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions from White Elephants to a Song and Dance" by Charles Earle Funk (Galahad Book, New York, 1993).

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/20/messages/1018.html

 

Worth His Salt

In every language, culture and religion, salt is the most important element that drives the life force. Mankind seems to have discovered this substance early enough to base all his cultural development on it. Its effect on human system and lives is self- explanatory… for no one can live without salt.

Ayurveda maintains that consumption of salt aggravates the element of fire in one’s constitution hence it is best avoided by persons with excessive energy accumulation in the body. In fact, according to this ancient science, fire and water constitute the salty taste. But fire is predominant, and powers its heating digestive effect. One interesting thing is that Ayurveda recognizes its water retaining as well as weight loss qualities. It also states that the long term effect of salt is actually Sweet!!!

 

The effect of salty taste over the human mind and body is also chronicled very carefully in Ayurveda. It says that while a small amount of salt may lead to an individual becoming outspoken and grounded, excessive use of salt can produce quite to the contrary results. In some people, it can induce the attitudes of rigidity in outlook while in some others it can induce immediate need for sensual gratification, something we could understand as addiction. That’s the secret behind the popular "No one can eat just one" ditty….and explains the urge to continually dip into the bag for more salted peanuts or wafers. However, Ayurveda also maintains that "Salt brings out the deliciousness of the food".

 

As a part of the diet, it is very good in small quantities, to stimulate adrenals and enhance digestive powers. But large quantities can play havoc with our internal plumbing, and lead to a waterlogged system, inducing swelling in the lower body, bloating and of course, HUGE kidney trouble.

 

The Japanese diet is the best example of this. Japanese food is very salt rich, largely due to the consumption of sea products in their traditional cuisine. So, though, as a nation they have a very low rate of cancer, they suffer from a very high rate of stomach cancer because of salt irritation in the stomach.

 

In olden, pre-refrigeration days, it was one of the best preservatives known to man, and that is he reason why most traditional foods have far too much salt, than what our body needs. Today, even though we are looking at ways to reduce salt consumption in our diet (CUT those wafers), salt still does ground the dishes we relish, and also ensures we have energy as well as strength.

 

The salt we normally use is ‘manufactured’ from seawater, and hence is actually sea salt. Then there is rock salt or black salt, which is better for the digestion as well as has better flavor. Kosher salt is closer to rock salt; indeed, the kosher salt sold in supermarkets can actually be used as a substitute to rock salt.

 

On a more general scale, salt seems to be having the power to aggravate fire wherever it goes…starting religions, religious diktats and even cuisine systems, the best example of which is the kosher cuisine system of the Jews.

 

In other parts of the world that have seen ancient civilizations, cultures and cuisine too, salt has played an extremely important role. The best example for this would be the fact that the words, 'war' and 'peace' originate from the word for salt & bread in Ancient Hebrew and Arabic. We can safely believe that mankind’s first full fledged squabble of any consequence (OK, lets call it war), originated over control of salt or slat supplies!!!!

 

As a preservative, the use of salt can be traced all the way to prehistory, when mankind had learnt to preserve fruits, vegetables and even meat and fish in salt. Grains and cereals were dehydrated or parched and then kept for long periods. Mankind learnt the use of salt very early on!!!

 

By way of pre-historic way of life, the salt obtained from red static salt brine was red and very much alike the dried blood of the animals that man hunted back then. It came to be associated with mysterious powerful magic and its abilities of dehydrating and preserving meat became legendary. In time this became a ritual in itself, giving rise to later religious and social indications.

 

The rituals of curing and preserving meat were associated with a healthy diet, in accordance with natural laws, to fulfill both the dietary as well as the psychological needs of man. Kosher, in time, became one of the identifying factors of the Jewish way of life. The hygienic way of keeping meat over long periods to allow gradual consumption and distribution of the food was one of the factors of sociological bonding too, hence the psychological need. In fact these practices of drying, smoking, fermenting and curing with salt of foods were almost quasi-ritual, deeply embedded in most ancient religious systems. In most they have survived as they were, as in the kosher guiding law and even some ancient Vedic rituals.

 

In time salt became a symbol of all things scared to a good life, it signified incorruptibility, it measured wages, it was used to indicate morals like gratitude and loyalty..and time only added to this mystique.

 

This ability of salt to preserve meat must have given the ancients the idea of mummification and ancient Egyptians would bury a dead person in `natrium" - salt baths, for 70 days. The body would be completely dehydrated and much easier to handle and preserve for posterity (or till tomb raiders ripped it up).

 

Almost every religion of the world has a significant role for salt in its rituals. The Old Testament talks about it being used as a cleanser for well waters by Prophet Eliseus. Ancient Orientals used it for cleansing the skins of newborn babies and protecting them from infection, in some cultures salt even has exorcist significance, in many parts of the world it is used to ward off the evil eye. Roman rite of the Church uses salt for liturgical purposes, as the baptismal salt and the blessed salt.

 

Religion, cuisine or food as medicine, salt has been playing an extremely important part in the human civilization for maybe thousands of years now and from the looks of it, will continue to do so as long as man lives.

By Kanika Goswami

Published: 10/5/2004

 

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/10-5-2004-60105.asp

[Mercedes Benzene]

Didn't I already explain that Michaelangelica??? :cup:

[hallenrm]

Talking of history and Salt. This common substance had a role to play in the Freedom movement of India, led by Mahatma Gandhi about 75 years ago.

 

The Colonial masters (read British Empire) had imposed a tax on extracting salt from seawater. Mahatma Gandhi led a group of citizens in protest, in what is now popularly known as the Dandi March or Salt satyagraha that is protest for the truth.

 

The Salt Satyagraha, also known as the Salt March to Dandi, was an act of protest against the British salt tax in Colonial India. Mahatma Gandhi walked from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, Gujarat to get himself some salt, and hordes of Indians followed him. The British could do nothing because Gandhi did not incite others to follow him in any way. The march lasted from March 12 to April 6, 1930.

[Michaelangelica]

Talking of history and Salt. This common substance had a role to play in the Freedom movement of India, led by Mahatma Gandhi about 75 years ago.

 

The Colonial masters (read British Empire) had imposed a tax on extracting salt from seawater. Mahatma Gandhi led a group of citizens in protest, in what is now popularly known as the Dandi March or Salt satyagraha that is protest for the truth.

Thank you I did't know that!

Salt gets arround doesn't it?

 

You have inspired me!

I am googling "salt in history"

http://www.mortonsalt.com/consumer/about_us/history/

(i need my pills)

 

Salt Through the Ages

 

The first written reference to salt is found in the Book of Job, recorded about 2,250 BC.

There are 31 other references to salt in the Bible, the most familiar probably being the story of Lot’s wife who was turned into a pillar of salt when she disobeyed the angels and looked back at the wicked city of Sodom.

 

From ancient times to the present, the importance of salt to humans and animals has been recognized.

Thousands of years ago, animals created paths to salt licks, and men followed seeking game and salt.

Their trails became roads and beside the roads; settlements grew.

These settlements became cities and nations.

 

Ancient Britons carried their crude salt by pack train from Cheshire to Southern England where they often were forced to delay their journey until the high tides of the Thames River subsided.

A village known as Westminster grew up there and Westminster became London.

 

The purifying quality of salt has made it a part of the rituals in some religious ceremonies.

 

“He is not worth his salt”, is a common expression. It originated in ancient Greece where salt was traded for slaves..

 

The early Greeks worshipped salt no less than the sun, and had a saying that “no one should trust a man without first eating a peck of salt with him”

(the moral being that by the time one had shared a peck of salt with another person, they would no longer be strangers).

 

The widespread superstition that spilling salt brings bad luck is believed to have originated with the overturned salt cellar in front of Judas Iscariot at the Last Supper, an incident immortalized in Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting.

 

Poor old Judas, I do feel sorry for this foundation stone of Christianity, bad PR again.

[Chacmool]

One interesting thing is that Ayurveda recognizes its water retaining as well as weight loss qualities. It also states that the long term effect of salt is actually Sweet!!!

This is very interesting. Sometimes I find myself craving sugar, only to discover that I am actually craving salt. I wonder what causes this confusion?

 

Anyway, I have now acquired Atlantic sea salt, which I'll use instead of ordinary table salt. I'll report on any effects.

[Chemnut]

This is very interesting. Sometimes I find myself craving sugar, only to discover that I am actually craving salt. I wonder what causes this confusion?

 

I would bet that your body is drained of energy during these cravings. Sugars provide energy, but without electroylytes (salts), nothing works. Nutrients are not transferred without the electrolyte. Your mind craves things that give you energy.

[Chemnut]

I am very interested in salt......

How can we get it out of water to make drinkable water?

Why is it so hard?. What chemistry is making it difficult?

This is the blue planet. Why can't we drink it? ........

How can we restore salt degraded land? A big, big, big problem in Australia .

Salinity is the bigest environmental problem facing Australia, and scientists are struggling to find ways to solve it. But maybe they’re just not thinking far enough outside the square. Why not remove the salt from the ground and sell it to yuppies to sprinkle on their dinner?....

 

It is not that difficult to remove salt from water (distillation or evaporation). It is generally too expensive to do so. The salt, over time, corrodes and eats away at most epuipment resulting in a very high maintenance cost. Some of the reasons for not separating the salt from the water are: 1) Salt deposits of good purity and inexpensive to mine and process are available in many places around the world. 2) Water is generally prevalent enough and inexpensive enough, that desalination is not cost justified.

 

Salt is quite often gathered or concentrated in huge evaporation ponds. The time it takes to remove water from salt increases as the concentration of the salt increases. This process takes large areas of land. Where you have plenty of saltwater, the land in the area is generally at a premium. Where land is cheap and nearly worthless, there is quite often, not enough heat to do evaporation ponds or not enough water.

 

As far as removing the salt or salinity of the soil goes, Can one make a profit from this or does it cost more than will be generated from the process.

Amendments to the soil will help, but it takes a cost prohibitive amount to change the pH enough. I would stay away from any Chloride compounds. Chloride ion is a biological killer or an organic terminator. I would use substances that would break down to Oxygen and create an acid when water is added. Fertilizers with Nitrates, Phosphates, Sulphates and Oxides do this.

Nitrogen and oxygen are life givers.

 

I live in an area that has very alkaline soil. This ties up the iron (Fe) in the soil and then the plants turn yellow and look sick. Adding iron helps but not enough. Manure helps considerably as it break down into nitrates.

 

Has anyone checked out various Salt company websites for information?

[Michaelangelica]

It is not that difficult to remove salt from water (distillation or evaporation). It is generally too expensive to do so.

Doing it cheaply is what i am interested in.

 

I am looking at innovative, cheap, portable, solar design.

I have some ideas but need to build a protype.

 

How does salt water pool chlorinater work?

 

 

As far as removing the salt or salinity of the soil goes, Can one make a profit from this or does it cost more than will be generated from the process.

Amendments to the soil will help, but it takes a cost prohibitive amount to change the pH enough. I would stay away from any Chloride compounds. Chloride ion is a biological killer or an organic terminator. I would use substances that would break down to Oxygen and create an acid when water is added. Fertilizers with Nitrates, Phosphates, Sulphates and Oxides do this.

Nitrogen and oxygen are life givers.

 

What about chlorine in tap water; will this kill soil micro-organisms?

 

I live in an area that has very alkaline soil. This ties up the iron (Fe) in the soil and then the plants turn yellow and look sick. Adding iron helps but not enough. Manure helps considerably as it break down into nitrates.

So do I; Ph of 9.

I am tyring amendments but doing most of my gardening in pots

.

I am interested in charcoal's effect on soil PH (see "Tera preta" thread)

Has anyone checked out various Salt company websites for information?

Some, but there is still a lot out there!

[Chemnut]

Doing it cheaply is what i am interested in.

 

I am looking at innovative, cheap, portable, solar design.

I have some ideas but need to build a protype.

 

A very simple, inexpensive, crude survival distillation apparatus will work. Place a large plastic bag, preferably clear, over a plant. Channel the opening of the bag into a collection container like a jar or plastic bottle.The sun will heat the ground, and the plant. Heat rises and the plants transpire or sweat moisture. The moisture is rises from the plant and encounters the plastic barrier. A convection current will be set up. What goes up must come down. The surface of the plastic bag will be cooler due to air moving around the bag. Therefore the water will condense on the inside of the bag and eventually run into your collection container.

 

In cooler climates this works well to give fairly pure water. In hot climates like the desert I live in, this also brings out the water soluble or emulsified oils in the plant. These generally give a strong smell and bitter taste and this water has to be redistilled or cleaned through filtering and ion exchange. This may also kill the plant if the bag is left on too long.

 

Another type of distillation apparatus I have been thinking about that can be placed most anywhere and scaled up as large as you want to make it, works better the hotter the temperature.

 

Take a large diameter plastic pipe (say about 8 inch) and cut it in half (split lengthwise) so you have two half circles. These will be the purified water collection vessels. Take another large diameter plastic pipe (12 to 24 inch and split it lenghtwise. One half of this pipe will be used for the salty, dirty supply water. Lay the cut pipes side by side so that you have the largest diameter pipe in the middle and the 2 smaller ones on each side of the larger diameter pipe. Leave a little separation between the pipes. Build a transparent canopy over the pipes. Connect the edges of the canopy to the outside edges of the smaller diameter pipes. The canopy may be a half circle or triangular shaped like the top of a green house. One end of the smaller pipes will need to be elevated slightly so water will collect at one end. Fill the center large diameter pipe with dirty or salty water. This will work similar to the plastic bag and will yield fairly pure water. The hotter the temperature, the better this will work.:hyper:

[Chemnut]

What about chlorine in tap water; will this kill soil micro-organisms?

 

This depends on how much chlorine is in the water. Some large cities tap water has so much chlorine that it will definitely kill the micro-organisms as well as the plant. Plants will tolerate a small amount. The more sensitive (tropical low sun) plants will not tolerate as much chlorine as many cities have in their tap water.

[Chacmool]

I would bet that your body is drained of energy during these cravings. Sugars provide energy, but without electroylytes (salts), nothing works. Nutrients are not transferred without the electrolyte. Your mind craves things that give you energy.

Right on the dot! I suffer from severe chronic fatigue. This makes a lot of sense. Thanks!

[Michaelangelica]

A very simple, inexpensive, crude survival distillation apparatus will work.

This will work similar to the plastic bag and will yield fairly pure water. The hotter the temperature, the better this will work.:hihi:

 

 

Survival shows in Australia often mention this tree-water-harvesting system We still loose people in the deserts though (not many trees?).

Australia is the driest continent on earth and we haven't realised that yet

 

My design is similar but uses only one piece of pipe with channel for dirty/sea water in the middle. I need to try a proto-type, Buy some pipes and muck around with them

Thanks for your help.

[Michaelangelica]

Does sea salt contain iodine?

Someone is trying to tell me it doesnt'