• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / Why Does Salt Make Cars Rust Faster?

Why Does Salt Make Cars Rust Faster?

March 22, 2020 by Karen Hill

Rusting takes place through a juxtaposition of iron and oxygen that actually constitutes a miniature electric battery, on the atomic scale.

That is, the oxygen molecules are taking electrons away from the iron atoms, and that is exactly what goes on inside a battery: electrons being snatched from one substance by another. Anything that helps electrons to go from the iron atoms to the oxygen molecules will help this process along.

Salt helps because when salt dissolves in water it makes a solution that is a good conductor of electrons. Therefore, salt helps iron to rust by helping to deliver the iron atoms’ electrons to the voracious oxygen molecules.

In the rather complex atom-by-atom mechanism of rusting, salt also helps to conduct charged iron atoms (ions) to where they need to go. Moreover, the chloride in the salt, which is sodium chloride, has a separate effect on the iron.

But that’s all a bit more than we want to get into. Trust me. Just don’t drive your car in salt water.

Related Facts

  • How Is Sea Salt Better Than Regular Table Salt?
  • How Do Batteries Store Electricity and Why do Batteries Die?
  • What is the Difference Between Sea Salt and Regular Table Salt?
  • What Are Salt Substitutes Made of and Are They Healthier Than Real Salt?
  • Where Does Rust Come From and Why Does Metal Rust?
  • How are rechargeable batteries made and What are batteries made of?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where Does Rust Come From and Why Does Metal Rust?
Next Post: Why does Straight Antifreeze Freeze at a Higher Temperature than 50% Mix with Water? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy