21 Facts About Sodium bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3.

Sodium bicarbonate is a white solid that is crystalline, but often appears as a fine powder.

Additionally, in the absence of acid, thermal decomposition of sodium bicarbonate produces sodium carbonate, which is strongly alkaline and gives the baked product a bitter, "soapy" taste and a yellow color.

Many forms of baking powder contain sodium bicarbonate combined with calcium acid phosphate, sodium aluminium phosphate, or cream of tartar.

Sodium bicarbonate is one of the main components of the common "black snake" firework.

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Sodium bicarbonate is used to delay combustion reactions by releasing CO2 and H2O when heated, both of which are flame retardants.

Sodium bicarbonate can be used to extinguish small grease or electrical fires by being thrown over the fire, as heating of sodium bicarbonate releases carbon dioxide.

Sodium bicarbonate is used in BC dry chemical fire extinguishers as an alternative to the more corrosive monoammonium phosphate in ABC extinguishers.

The alkaline nature of sodium bicarbonate makes it the only dry chemical agent, besides Purple-K, that was used in large-scale fire suppression systems installed in commercial kitchens.

Sodium bicarbonate reacts spontaneously with acids, releasing CO2 gas as a reaction product.

Sodium bicarbonate when applied on leaves, can prevent the growth of fungi; however, it does not kill the fungus.

Mixture of sodium bicarbonate and polyethylene glycol such as PegLyte, dissolved in water and taken orally, is an effective gastrointestinal lavage preparation and laxative prior to gastrointestinal surgery, gastroscopy, etc.

Sodium bicarbonate has been used in the treatment of tricyclic antidepressant overdose.

Sodium bicarbonate can be added to local anesthetics, to speed up the onset of their effects and make their injection less painful.

Similarly to its use in baking, sodium bicarbonate is used together with a mild acid such as tartaric acid as the excipient in effervescent tablets: when such a tablet is dropped in a glass of water, the carbonate leaves the reaction medium as carbon dioxide gas .

Sodium bicarbonate is used as a cattle feed supplement, in particular as a buffering agent for the rumen.

Sodium bicarbonate is used in a process for removing paint and corrosion called sodablasting.

Sodium bicarbonate reacts with acetic acid, producing sodium acetate, water, and carbon dioxide:.

Sodium bicarbonate reacts with bases such as sodium hydroxide to form carbonates:.

Sodium bicarbonate, as "bicarbonate of soda", was a frequent source of punch lines for Groucho Marx in Marx Brothers movies.

Sodium bicarbonate's father was the first man to stuff spaghetti with bicarbonate of soda, thus causing and curing indigestion at the same time.