Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Sodium \So"di*um\, n. [NL., fr.E. soda.] (Chem.) A common metallic element of the alkali group, in nature always occuring combined, as in common salt, in albite, etc. It is isolated as a soft, waxy, white, unstable metal, so highly reactive that it combines violently with water, and to be preserved must be kept under petroleum or some similar liquid. Sodium is used combined in many salts, in the free state as a reducer, and as a means of obtaining other metals (as magnesium and aluminium) is an important commercial product. Symbol Na ( Natrium). Atomic weight 22.990. Specific gravity 0.97.
Sodium amalgam, an alloy of sodium and mercury, usually produced as a gray metallic crystalline substance, which is used as a reducing agent, and otherwise.
Sodium carbonate, a white crystalline substance, Na2CO3.10H2O, having a cooling alkaline taste, found in the ashes of many plants, and produced artifically in large quantities from common salt. It is used in making soap, glass, paper, etc., and as alkaline agent in many chemical industries. Called also sal soda, washing soda, or soda. Cf. Sodium bicarbonate, and Trona.
Sodium chloride, common, or table, salt, NaCl.
Sodium hydroxide, a white opaque brittle solid, NaOH, having a fibrous structure, produced by the action of quicklime, or of calcium hydrate (milk of lime), on sodium carbonate. It is a strong alkali, and is used in the manufacture of soap, in making wood pulp for paper, etc. Called also sodium hydrate, and caustic soda. By extension, a solution of sodium hydroxide.
Wiktionary
n. (context inorganic compound English) Chemical term for common table salt, a compound composed of equal number of sodium and chlorine atoms. Chemical formula NaCl.
WordNet
n. a white crystalline solid consisting mainly of sodium chloride (NaCl) [syn: common salt]
Wikipedia
Sodium chloride , also known as salt or halite, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of seawater and of the extracellular fluid of many multicellular organisms. In the form of edible or table salt it is commonly used as a condiment and food preservative. Large quantities of sodium chloride are used in many industrial processes, and it is a major source of sodium and chlorine compounds used as feedstocks for further chemical syntheses. A second major consumer of sodium chloride is de-icing of roadways in sub-freezing weather.
This page provides supplementary chemical data on sodium chloride.
Usage examples of "sodium chloride".
Several are mentioned by the Encyclopedia Britannica (EB): arsenic oxide, sodium nitrate, sodium chloride, sodium sulfate and sodium nitrate (EB 300).
The old method mixed salt water (sodium chloride) with carbon dioxide from heated limestone (calcium carbonate), and ammonia from our coke ovens.
Mexicans have long known that a little sodium chloride on the tongue can help to mollify the fiery flavor that characterizes much of their food.
By appearances, sodium chloride and cesium chloride were indistinguishable.
NaCl) without thereafter propelling said same household sodium chloride over and above left shoulder despite supplies of same being freely available, to the furtherance of the Devil's works, and, farther, did, in the presence of several God-fearing witnesses, good men and true, with malice aforethought open an umbrella within a household, as defined by the Household (Definition) Act of the Year of Our Lord .