Napoleon's Buttons Chapter 15: Salt

What did Joseph John Thomson demonstrate?

He demonstrated that all atoms contain electrons.

What did Michael Faraday propose?

He proposed electrons were the negatively charged fundamental particles of electricity.

What does salt symbolize?

Hospitality and good fortune It also protects against bad luck

How much salt is contained in the human body?

4 ounces of salt

What is chlorine gas?

A by product of the electrolysis of brine and is used to produce Chlorine which is a bleaching agent and disinfectant.

What is a "gabelle"?

A tax imposed by the French king, Charles of Anjou in Provence in 1259.

How did the gabelle work?

1) Each man, woman, and child had to purchase a weekly amount of salt whose price was set by the king 2) People living in some regions paid more than others. 3) Gabelle farmers or salt tax collectors monitored consumption to make sure everyone bought salt 4) Stiff fine and penalities were enforced

What are two other ways to obtain salt?

1) Evaporating water from brine springs 2) Mining rock salt

What made salt a good mineral to tax?

1) Human needed it to survive 2) The way it was produced

What impacts did trading salt have on history?

1) Rise of Islam on the west coast of Africa by the Berbers 2) Roman city of Ostia cause the first industrial impact on the environment when the Tiber river was filled with sediment 3) Salt to preserve fish enabled European fisherman to fish farther away towards the New World (Grand Banks)

How was salt taxed?

1) Taxes on people 2) Tolls on transportation of salt 3) Tariffs on the importation of salt

What resulted in obtaining salt from brine springs and mines?

1) The deforestation of Europe to fuel fires to evaporate the brine making salte 2) Mining towns grew up - Venice, Salzburg, Halle, La Salle, Tuzla.

What were four impacts of salt on war?

1) Venetians waged war on towns that threatened their monopoly on salt. 2) Wars were waged around control of the Dead Sea 3) British destroyed the colonies' salt works in New Jersey during American revolution 4) Napoleon's soldiers died due to a lack of dietary salt as wounds couldn't heal

What are three key functions of salt in the human body?

1) electrolyte balance between cells 2) generates the electrical impulses between neurons in the nervous systems (sodium-potassium pump) 3) produces hydrochloric acid which is a component of digestive juices

What were the three ancient ways of obtaining salt?

1) evaporating sea water 2) mining salt 3) boiling down water from brine springs

What are two properties of Halite?

1) it is soluble in water 2) it can conduct electrical currents when dissolved in water

What has been the impact of salt on history?

1) major player in global trade 2) created monopolies and economic sanctions 3) wars 4) growth in cities 5) industrial advances 6) migration of people

What was sodium carbonate?

Also called soda ash, it was needed in the soap manufacturing process. The demand for soap led to the use of sodium chloride to produce it.

Who were the Hanseatic League?

An organization of north German towns who controlled the trade of salt fish.

Who was Nicholas Leblanc?

Developed a method of making sodium carbonate from salt, sulfuric acid, coal, and limestone.

Who were Ernest and Alfred Solvay?

Inventors of the Solvay process of creating synthetic sod ash.

What is the problem with getting salt from evaporation?

It is slow and the sea salt is less pure and tends to clump.

What was Timbuktu known for?

It was a major Moslem city on the Saharan gold/salt trade route. It had a university, mosques, and palaces.

What was role of the salt tax in India?

It was a symbol of colonial oppression and led to the breaking of the salt laws championed by Ghandi

What was the city of Teghaza known for?

It was built from blocks of salt.

What was the impact of the fishing for cod on the Grand Banks?

It was overfished and their is now an international moratorium on fishing there for cod.

What are the symptoms of salt deprivation?

Loss of weight and appetite Cramps Nausea Inertia Vascular collapse and death

What is caustic soda?

One of the ten most produced chemicals in the U.S. used in extracting aluminum and the manufacture of rayon, detergents, petroleum products and paper.

Why was supplemental salt needed in people's diet?

People's diet changed when they ate less meat and began growing/eating fruits and vegetables.

What did Arrhenious propose?

Proposed the ionic model - the idea of oppositely charged ions as an explanation of the structure and properties of salts.

What were Roman soldiers paid in?

Salt

Who was Archibald Cochrane?

The founder of the chemical alkali industry and first to patent the process to convert salt to "artificial alkali"

What is the chemical name for salt?

Sodium chloride (NaCl)

How is caustic soda produced?

Sodium hydroxide is made by passing an electric current through a solution of sodium chloride (salt).

What is still the most common method?

Solar evaporation of sea water.

Where have large deposits of soda ash been found?

The Green River basin in Wyoming

What is Halite?

The chemical name of salt.

What was one of the main grievances responsible for the French Revolution?

The gabelle

What was "white gold"

The name of salt in the Middle Ages.

What makes salt a good perservative?

The sodium chloride attracts the water molecules. Salt draws the water out of meat/fish and kills bacteria.

What caused the United Kingdom to be the first to abolish the salt tax?

The use of salt in manufacturing during the rise of the industrial revolution.

What makes salt water soluble?

The water molecules are partially charged and the ions tend to disperse randomly.

What is solid sodium chloride composed of?

Two different ions: 1) Positively charged sodium ions 2) Negatively charged chloride ions