Molten NaCl ?

Hi all,

I was just reading in my textbook that running an eletrical current through
molten NaCl will produce gaseous chlorine. How does one melt NaCl? I tried
to melt some in a beeker, but was unsuccessful. I was just curious if I
could do it. I was not going to run any current through it. I am dumb, but
not that dumb.

Lurch

Charlie Johnson wrote:

I've seen it melt on a kitchen stove coil,
but this is not entirely good for the coil.
It still works, but is thinner-skinned now.


--- Graham Cowan
[Only registered users see links. ] --
how cars gain nuclear cachet

On Tue, 04 Nov 2003 23:59:52 GMT, "Charlie Johnson"
<[Only registered users see links. ]> wrote:

An equimolar mixture of NaCl and KCl melts at 645 °C (eutectic).
Quite feasable in the average kitchen.

---
Martin Pot ([Only registered users see links. ])
[Only registered users see links. ]

Memorize less and learn more.

You have to get pure NaCl fairly hot to melt. The melting point is 801
degrees Celsius.

Lynn


"Charlie Johnson" <[Only registered users see links. ]> wrote in message
news:Y3Xpb.9313$[Only registered users see links. ].atl.earthl ink.net...
through
tried
but

Charlie Johnson wrote:

Last time I looked the MP of NaCl was 801 deg C. That should also melt a
glass container.
FK

"Charlie Johnson" <[Only registered users see links. ]> wrote in message news:<Y3Xpb.9313$[Only registered users see links. ].atl.earth link.net>...


Using a couple of propane torches, and a long time, I was able to just
barely sinter table salt in a porcelain crucible. A hotter torch, a
purer sample, or the KOH trick mentioned above sounds like a plan --
if you really want to do this.

[Only registered users see links. ] (Ralconte) wrote:


In my youth I was able to melt NaCl in a porcelain crucible using a
single propane torch. It took a LONG time. You have to get all of
the surrounding apparatus hot in order to minimize conductive and
radiative heat loss from the crucible. It's also essential to keep
the crucible capped. This is probably right on the edge of what can
be melted (on a few gram scale in a crucible) with a normal propane
torch.

Molten NaCl looks just like water -- a thin, transparent and colorless
liquid.

Steve Turner

Real address contains worldnet instead of spamnet

On Wed, 05 Nov 2003 18:55:38 GMT, Repeating Decimal
<[Only registered users see links. ]> wrote:


We first make a brine by dissolving equimolar amounts of the salts in
a little water. Then we boil off the water. The remaining solid should
melt at the above mentioned temperature. The presence of contaminants
could lower the melting point, eg. the KCl-NaCl-ZnSO4 (1:1:1) eutectic
is at 290 °C.

[Only registered users see links. ]

---
Martin Pot ([Only registered users see links. ])
[Only registered users see links. ]

Ingrowing toe-nail. Right foot.
You'll find it on the end of the leg.
- Basil Fawlty , Oktober 1975 -

Repeating Decimal wrote:


We never had any trouble melting a powdered mixture of salts just above their
eutectic temperature.

in article [Only registered users see links. ], Ron Bailey at [Only registered users see links. ] wrote on
11/6/03 9:42 AM:

That in itself sounds interesting. It would suggest that the tail of the
thermal distribution causes enough diffusion so that a bit of eutectic gets
to seed the process.

Bill