Sometimes physics comes in handy for solving simple daily problems, like how to keep common salt from "caking" or clumping together. This problem, which arises in particular when salt is stored, is believed to be due to bridges forming between the crystals of sodium chloride. Amar Ballabh and colleagues from the Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute in Gujarat and the Hindustan Lever Research Centre and Unilever Research India in Bangalore have found that adding a small amount of the amino acid glycine to common salt makes the crystals come out as rhombic dodecahedrons instead of cubes.
展开▼
