v33.9: Salty

Good morning folks,

-slurp-

Sorry for the lack of musing yesterday.  I was feeling a bit under the weather and had to take a sick day from work.  It wasn't very nice so I will save you all from the details.

-slurp-

So what started out as a good start to my 2010 Roll-Up season has quickly started to plummet.  My first coffee of the season was a win but nothing since then.  I did brave a coffee yesterday (big mistake) and it was another loss.  We can only hope that this coffee I'm drinking right now will have a winning tab; I'm very excited!

-slurp-

The word on the street is we're in for a big storm today.  Almost every single school in the southern part of the province has been shut down for the day as everyone awaits the storm.  Every school except the ones in Halifax that is.  As I was driving the kids to school this morning my car was being pelted by freezing rain, the salt trucks had been out earlier and all the roads were covered in this fine mist of salt; there won't be much in the way of icy roads today I guess.

-slurp-

Ever wonder why salt is used to get rid of ice?  Why do we throw salt on our sidewalks and steps?  Why do big trucks full of salt drop it all over our highways and roads?  Why do some places use dirt or sand on their roads instead of salt?  As some of you know, salt can be a mess and it causes premature rusting on our vehicles.  It also causes a lot of salt dust when it dries out on the roads and cars driving will kick this dust up and spread it around; I'm sure that stuff can't be good for the environment especially if is starts to coat the roadside vegetation.

-slurp-

So why salt?  Well to put it simply, salt water doesn't freeze at the same temperature as normal water.  In most cases, normal water will freeze at 0 C (20 F) where as water with 10% salt solution will freeze around -16 C (2 F).  By putting salt on ice, you are causing the salt to dissolve  into the ice thereby changing the chemical composition of the water to a salt solution which changes the temperate at which it will freeze.  Simple right?  Of course this only works when the temperature is above a certain level.  Since way up North it gets a lot colder, the use of salt is fairly useless.  This is why sand or dirt is used to provide traction on icy roads.  It may be a muddy mess when it warms up but it won't slowly eat away at the metal in your vehicle like salt will.

-slurp-

So there you have it, learn something new everyday.  With that little tidbit of information I must bid you all farewell for another day.  Time to roll up the rim!

-roll-

DAMMIT!  Oh well, maybe tomorrow.  Until next time, remember to watch out for those icy roads and drive safe.

Cheers,

Al