How do you prove salt water rust iron faster than fresh water?

Answer 1

Easy. Find two things made from the same kind of iron. (Old-fashioned cut nails are available at hardware stores, and they're iron.) Mix up a batch of salt water, and pour it into a bowl. Pour the same amount of fresh water into an identical bowl. Then add the same number of nails to each bowl. Every day take a picture of the two bowls side-by-side.

Answer 2

Rust is essentially oxidation, or a chemical interaction involving oxygen. When oxidation occurs in some elements, a thin film is formed as a result - such as the green layer that copper acquires. Other elements, such as iron, show rust as evidence of oxidation. If iron--or metal related to iron--is exposed to an environment that contains oxygen then the oxidation process will begin. Molecules of iron at the surface will exchange atoms with the oxygen in the air, and what atoms are left will form a new substance, the reddish-brown rust.

Oxidation is an electrochemical process that acts somewhat like a battery, exchanging small amounts of electricity. Like batteries, a solution helps this process by allowing electrons to move more easily between the two elements, and also like batteries, different solutions work better thanothers.

When the water is already salty it starts out as a minor acid and becomes an even more powerful electrolyte, facilitating the rusting process. There is then a hierarchy in the rust process. Rust does not easily form in dry climate, but in a wet climate the oxygen can access the metal more easily through the water vapor, and rust occurs much faster. Prime rust conditions occur when the metal is regularly exposed to salt water and air.