This winter has been filled with so much rain and snow. I started wondering what the difference is between the salt they place on icy roads and the salt you use to make homemade ice cream?
Is it the same kind of salt? What does the salt on the road do? Does it help with friction or melt the ice?
I thought the salt mixed with ice, to make ice cream, makes the freeze temperature lower?
I’m confused…
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They’re both pretty typically NaCl (sodium chloride) and yes, they’re doing the same thing – keeping things from freezing solid at a few degrees below water’s normal freezing temperature.
On the roads, they sprinkle salt to make ice melt and break apart so that the roads don’t become skating rinks. In ice cream, salt is used to keep the other ingredients in a nice thick slushy consistency which water can’t get cold enough to do without freezing solid.
When we want help with *traction* on roads rather than just plain melting the ice, we we use something insoluable alongside the salt, such as gravel or sand. The salt or sand doesn’t really help melt the ice at all, but it gives tires something to help grip onto on top of the ice.
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