The mineral sodium chloride/halite - Research Paper Example

Sodium Chloride Image: The mineral Sodium Chloride or Halite is generally referred as Common Salt or Table Salt. The other synonyms used are Martinsite of Karsten, Murate of Sota, Natrikalite, Rock Salt, Saltspar, ICSD 18189, PDF 5-628 and ?-Halite. The name Halite is said to have originated from the Greek words ‘halos’ meaning salt and ‘lithos’ meaning rock. NaCl is the chemical formula of the Halite mineral. The percent chemical composition is 39.34% Sodium and 60.66% Chlorine. The mineral Halite exists in both colorless and colored forms.

The various colors of Halite include white, yellow, orange, pink, blue, purple, violet, green and gray. Halite is assigned vitreous luster on the basis of the reflection of light by its surface. The color of the mineral when it is powdered is called streak and Halite has a white streak. Halite has a perfect (100), (010), (001) cleavage as it breaks easily and cleanly in these directions. When Halite mineral chips or breaks it leaves a characteristic mark resembling a semicircular shell, and thus it has a conchoidal fracture.

The hardness of Halite is 2.5 in Mohs scale which means it can scratch Gypsum but not Calcite. The measured density of Halite is 2.168 g/cm3 and calculated density is 2.165g/cm3. Halite mineral is non-magnetic in nature. Regarding the luminescence properties, in short UV and long UV it exhibits red, green and orange color, and has fluorescence properties as well. Halite is a very useful and essential mineral. In chemical industries it is used as an ore for both Sodium and Chlorine. It is also used in leather industry for tanning.

The uses of Halite in everyday life are numerous. It is used as a food seasoning agent, as salt licks for cattle, and also to melt ice and snow from roads. Halite mineral is also said to have medicinal uses as well. Bibliography “Mineralogy Database.” Webmineral. David Barthelmy, 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2011. “Mineral Uses, Properties, Descriptions.” Geology.com. N.p, 2005. Web. 14 Jan. 2011. “Sodium Chloride.” Encyclopedia. HighBeam Research Inc., 2011. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.