Question:

Is salt causing rust on vehicles a myth?

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Is the rust on vehicles in the northern states really due to the salt/sand on the roads? I find it hard to believe because rust is FeO, and Salt is NaCl. NaCl Fe --> FeO doesn't make sense to me.

What I'm thinking is that its actually the snow itself causing the rust. Please give me some mathematical evidence, thanks!

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  1. No myth. Salt in water conducts electricity/electrons. Under the right circumstances (electrically conducting salt water solutions), Fe reacts with O2 to produce Fe2O3 (rust)

    3H2O + 2Fe + O2 ===> Fe2O3 + 6e- + 6H+

    4H+ + O2 + 4e- ===> 2H2O

    Multiply the first half-reaction by 2, multiply the second by 3, add the two equations together and collect terms, and you'll get the balanced equation for rusting.

    In Michigan, I hear that cheese-making has made lactose so cheap that they use it rather than NaCl on the roads. Lactose does not conduct electricity nor electrons.

    Sand does not conduct electricity.

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