When sodium is mixed with water it produces flames then yet when its combination salt is used in food why
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Answer:
Sodium is ordinarily quite reactive with air, and the reactivity is a function of the relative humidity, or water-vapour content of the air. The corrosion of solid sodium by oxygen also is accelerated by the presence of small amounts of impurities in the sodium. In ordinary air, sodium metal reacts to form a sodium hydroxide film, which can rapidly absorb carbon dioxide from the air, forming sodium bicarbonate. Sodium does not react with nitrogen, so sodium is usually kept immersed in a nitrogen atmosphere (or in inert liquids such as kerosene or naphtha). It is significantly more reactive in air as a liquid than as a solid, and the liquid can ignite at about 125 °C (257 °F). In a comparatively dry atmosphere, sodium burns quietly, giving off a dense white caustic smoke, which can cause choking and coughing. The temperature of burning sodium increases rapidly to more than 800 °C (1,500 °F), and under these conditions the fire is extremely difficult to extinguish. Special dry-powder fire extinguishers are required, since sodium reacts with carbon dioxide, a common propellant in regular fire extinguishers.