Salt
How did salt form?
Salt is made of sodium and chlorine atoms born in stars; the seas became salty over millions of years from sodium washed out of rocks and chlorine from volcanoes.
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In three stops
Where were its atoms born?
Sodium forms when carbon burns in massive stars; chlorine forms in later burning stages and in supernova explosions.
How did it form on Earth?
Rain wears down rocks and rivers carry the sodium to the sea; chlorine comes mostly from volcanoes. Over millions of years the sea turned salty. When enclosed seas dried up, thick layers of salt were left behind; rock salt mines come from these.
What did humans make of it?
Salt was precious because it is one of the oldest ways to keep food from spoiling, and salt routes were major arteries of trade. In Türkiye, Lake Tuz (Salt Lake) supplies a large share of the country's salt.
Did you know?
Sodium is a metal that bursts into flame in water, and chlorine is a poisonous gas. Combined, they become the salt on your table: the same atoms, but the bond between them changes everything.