>From the Britannica article: "Electrolysis of molten sodium chloride yields metallic sodium and chlorine gas; that of a strong solution of sodium chloride in water (brine) yields hydrogen gas, chlorine gas, and sodium hydroxide (in solution); and that of water (with a low concentration of dissolved sodium chloride or other electrolyte) yields hydrogen and oxygen."
This is just amazing. Is there no one who remembers practical chemistry anymore? Jed was concerned about the centralized authority of Wikipedia, and the Britannica enjoyed something like ne plus ultra status for many years as a repository of information. So now we have someone writing an article describing the electrolysis of salt brine who probably has never even heard of anyone actually having done that. It's probably fourth- or fifth-hand information. What actually happens to a strong sodium chloride solution under electrolysis is considerably more complex. Depending on the current density and the temperature, the electrolyte becomes a mixture of, yes, sodium hydroxide, but also hypochlorite, chlorate, and perchlorate. This is another example of what is happening to scientific information in general. Nice tidy results can be written down, the theory discussed, and the information repeated from one source to another, all without anyone getting their hands dirty or being bothered by those pesky facts or (shudder) experiments. But see, I must be wrong, it says so right there in the effing Encylopedia Britannica. I'll bet the author of that article "knows' that cold fusion is just a delusion. M. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!
