Chlorine is a deadly poison in its pure form, yet we eat it all the time! How can that be?
Chlorine is an element, just like iron or oxygen, but it never occurs in nature by itself. It’s most commonly found mixed with the element sodium in a compound called sodium chloride, which is the chemical name for ordinary table salt! So when we eat chlorine, we eat it mixed with sodium, and in that form chlorine is harmless.
Pure chlorine is used as a poison to kill germs in our drinking water or in swimming pool water. Chlorine is so poisonous to bacteria that water can be purified by just one part of chlorine for every 200,000 parts of water!
Most of the chlorine used today is separated from the sodium in salt by means of an electrical current. Chlorine is used not only as a disinfectant, but as a bleach for fabrics and paper.
Related Posts
-
How Does Chlorine In Swimming Pools Kill Harmful Organisms and Why Is Chlorine Used To Disinfect Pools?
Chlorine is not the only member of the halogen group that can be used to disinfect water. Iodine and bromine will also do the job, though not fluorine because it is too reactive.…
-
Why Can We See Through Air and Why is Chlorine Gas Green?
It's very simple. The molecules in air are so far apart that we're actually looking through empty space. To notice anything at all, we would have to be able to see the individual…
-
Are Iceland’s Sulfur Pools Toxic?
To many people, Iceland is a strange and eerie place. It sits in the North Atlantic on top of a range of ancient volcanoes that rise from the ocean floor. It also has,…
-
How Is The Penguin The Fastest Swimming Bird On Earth?
Most birds are built for life in the air, but penguins are far better equipped for life in the water. These flightless birds use their wings as paddles when they're swimming, enabling them…
-
What diseases can you get when swimming in a lake, river, ocean or pool?
Being bitten by infected ticks and mosquitoes, alas, is not the only germ danger you face while enjoying the great outdoors. In fact, just going for a swim can make you sick, even…
-
Why Won’t Oil and Water Mix and Why Doesn’t Oil Dissolve In Water?
Ordinarily, water is the best mixer in the world, and I don't mean just with Scotch. It mixes with, it associates intimately with, it even welcomes into its very bosom, that is, it…
