Why common salt is used to clear snow on the roads?
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In cold countries when there is snow in winter, roads get blocked. This snow can be dangerous to vehicles, since they can skid on it. Hence the snow must be cleared off from time to time. Therefore sea-salt is sprinkled on the snow. It melts and flows away, leaving the road clear. But to understand why, we must know how water freezes into snow.
When you cool water below 0°C, it freezes. During this process, the water molecules lose energy, till they stop moving about. They then become arranged in an orderly pattern, losing more heat. At this stage, crystals of ice start to appear.
When ice melts, it needs heat to first break the pattern. Then as you heat it more, the molecules start moving about, becoming a liquid.
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