Salt

For the compound commonly referred to as "salt" or "table salt", see sodium chloride.

Salts are ionic compounds that are produced as a result of neutralization reactions between an acid and a base. They are made of cations (positively charged ions) and anions (negatively charged ions) that neutralize each others electrical charges.

Properties

Salts are typically crystalline, with high melting points and high strength. They are usually soluble in water and are almost always solid at normal temperature and pressure. Many of these salts exist in varying degrees of hydration (inclusion of water molecules in their crystal lattice), and salts of transition metals are often brightly colored, such as those of copper, cobalt, and chromium.

Chemical properties

Salts usually disassociate in water very readily and are often traded and used dissolved in water.