Author: Robert P. Multhauf

Publisher:

Published: 1978

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13:

Abstract: The scientific, historic, and socioeconomic aspects of salt are exhaustively explored for lay readers, historians, and scientists. The topic is treated chronologically; up to 1850, salt varieties were differentiated only by taste and appearance. After 1850, the chemical era of salt began, with analysis of its composition and purity, its chemical actions, and its technological applications. Maps, drawings, and photographs illustrate geological occurrence, mining operations, and old equipment. The importance of common salt is revealed through its influence on world exploration, the fight for trade routes, and the establishment of trade and ecclesiastical centers in Western Europe. Methods of obtaining salt are described, including mining, boring, and extracting from sea water. Theories are propounded on the formation of salt domes and deposits that have contributed to one of the most long-lasting controversies of geological history. The modern and historic uses of salts, world consumption figures, and the parallel development of the petroleum and Kali industries are other topics covered. (cj).