Sodium

Template:About Template:Redirect Template:Pp-vandalism Template:Good article Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox sodium

Sodium is a chemical element; it has symbol Na (from Neo-Latin Template:Lang) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable isotope is ²³Na. The free metal does not occur in nature and must be prepared from compounds. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and exists in numerous minerals such as feldspars, sodalite, and halite (NaCl). Many salts of sodium are highly water-soluble: sodium ions have been leached by the action of water from the Earth's minerals over eons, and thus sodium and chlorine are the most common dissolved elements by weight in the oceans.

Sodium was first isolated by Humphry Davy in 1807 by the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide. Among many other useful sodium compounds, sodium hydroxide (lye) is used in soap manufacture, and sodium chloride (edible salt) is a de-icing agent and a nutrient for animals including humans.

Sodium is an essential element for all animals and some plants. Sodium ions are the major cation in the extracellular fluid (ECF) and as such are the major contributor to the ECF osmotic pressure.<ref name=ciba>Template:Cite book</ref> Animal cells actively pump sodium ions out of the cells by means of the sodium–potassium pump, an enzyme complex embedded in the cell membrane, in order to maintain a roughly ten-times higher concentration of sodium ions outside the cell than inside.<ref name="Gagnon 2021">Template:Cite journal</ref> In nerve cells, the sudden flow of sodium ions into the cell through voltage-gated sodium channels enables transmission of a nerve impulse in a process called the action potential.

Characteristics

Physical

File:Na-D-sodium D-lines-589nm.jpg

Emission spectrum for sodium, showing the D line

Sodium at standard temperature and pressure is a soft silvery metal that combines with oxygen in the air, forming sodium oxides. Bulk sodium is usually stored in oil or an inert gas. Sodium metal can be easily cut with a knife. It is a good conductor of electricity and heat.

The melting (98 °C) and boiling (883 °C) points of sodium are lower than those of lithium but higher than those of the heavier alkali metals potassium, rubidium, and caesium, following periodic trends down the group.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> These properties change dramatically at elevated pressures: at 1.5 Mbar, the color changes from silvery metallic to black; at 1.9 Mbar the material becomes transparent with a red color; and at 3 Mbar, sodium is a clear and transparent solid. All of these high-pressure allotropes are insulators and electrides.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Flametest--Na.swn.jpg

A positive flame test for sodium has a bright yellow color.

In a flame test, sodium and its compounds glow yellow<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> because the excited 3s electrons of sodium emit a photon when they fall from 3p to 3s; the wavelength of this photon corresponds to the D line at about 589.3 nm. Spin-orbit interactions involving the electron in the 3p orbital split the D line into two, at 589.0 and 589.6 nm; hyperfine structures involving both orbitals cause many more lines.<ref name="Citron-PRL-1977">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Isotopes

Template:Main Twenty isotopes of sodium are known, but only ²³Na is stable. ²³Na is created in the carbon-burning process in stars by fusing two carbon atoms together; this requires temperatures above 600 megakelvins and a star of at least three solar masses.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Two radioactive, cosmogenic isotopes are the byproduct of cosmic ray spallation: ²²Na has a half-life of 2.6 years and ²⁴Na, a half-life of 15 hours; all other isotopes have a half-life of less than one minute.<ref>Template:NUBASE 2003</ref>

Two nuclear isomers have been discovered, the longer-lived one being ^24mNa with a half-life of around 20.2 milliseconds. Acute neutron radiation, as from a nuclear criticality accident, converts some of the stable ²³Na in human blood to ²⁴Na; the neutron radiation dosage of a victim can be calculated by measuring the concentration of ²⁴Na relative to ²³Na.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Chemistry

Template:Main Sodium atoms have 11 electrons, one more than the stable configuration of the noble gas neon. The first and second ionization energies are 495.8 kJ/mol and 4562 kJ/mol, respectively. As a result, sodium usually forms ionic compounds involving the Na⁺ cation.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Metallic sodium

Metallic sodium is generally less reactive than potassium and more reactive than lithium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sodium metal is highly reducing, with the standard reduction potential for the Na⁺/Na couple being −2.71 volts,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> though potassium and lithium have even more negative potentials.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Salts and oxides

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File:NaCl polyhedra.png

The structure of sodium chloride, showing octahedral coordination around Na⁺ and Cl⁻ centres. This framework disintegrates when dissolved in water and reassembles when the water evaporates.

Sodium compounds are of immense commercial importance, being particularly central to industries producing glass, paper, soap, and textiles.Template:Sfn The most important sodium compounds are table salt (NaCl), soda ash (Na₂CO₃), baking soda (NaHCO₃), caustic soda (NaOH), sodium nitrate (NaNO₃), di- and tri-sodium phosphates, sodium thiosulfate (Na₂S₂O₃·5H₂O), and borax (Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O).<ref name="Holl" /> In compounds, sodium is usually ionically bonded to water and anions and is viewed as a hard Lewis acid.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

File:Sodium stearate v2.svg

Two equivalent images of the chemical structure of sodium stearate, a typical soap

Most soaps are sodium salts of fatty acids. Sodium soaps have a higher melting temperature (and seem "harder") than potassium soaps.<ref name="Holl">Template:Cite book</ref>

Like all the alkali metals, sodium reacts exothermically with water. The reaction produces caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and flammable hydrogen gas. When burned in air, it forms primarily sodium peroxide with some sodium oxide.Template:Sfn

Aqueous solutions

Sodium tends to form water-soluble compounds, such as halides, sulfates, nitrates, carboxylates and carbonates. The main aqueous species are the aquo complexes [Na(H₂O)_n]⁺, where n = 4–8; with n = 6 indicated from X-ray diffraction data and computer simulations.<ref name="Lincoln">Template:Cite book</ref>

Direct precipitation of sodium salts from aqueous solutions is rare because sodium salts typically have a high affinity for water. An exception is sodium bismuthate (NaBiO₃),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which is insoluble in cold water and decomposes in hot water.<ref name="me">Template:Cite book</ref> Because of the high solubility of its compounds, sodium salts are usually isolated as solids by evaporation or by precipitation with an organic antisolvent, such as ethanol; for example, only 0.35 g/L of sodium chloride will dissolve in ethanol.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A crown ether such as 15-crown-5 may be used as a phase-transfer catalyst.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Sodium content of samples is determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry or by potentiometry using ion-selective electrodes.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Electrides and sodides

Like the other alkali metals, sodium dissolves in ammonia and some amines to give deeply colored solutions; evaporation of these solutions leaves a shiny film of metallic sodium. The solutions contain the coordination complex [Na(NH₃)₆]⁺, with the positive charge counterbalanced by electrons as anions; cryptands permit the isolation of these complexes as crystalline solids. Sodium forms complexes with crown ethers, cryptands and other ligands.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

For example, 15-crown-5 has a high affinity for sodium because the cavity size of 15-crown-5 is 1.7–2.2 Å, which is enough to fit the sodium ion (1.9 Å).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Cryptands, like crown ethers and other ionophores, also have a high affinity for the sodium ion; derivatives of the alkalide Na⁻ are obtainable<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> by the addition of cryptands to solutions of sodium in ammonia via disproportionation.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Organosodium compounds

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File:Monensin2.png

The structure of the complex of sodium (Na⁺, shown in yellow) and the antibiotic monensin-A

Many organosodium compounds have been prepared. Because of the high polarity of the C-Na bonds, they behave like sources of carbanions (salts with organic anions). Some well-known derivatives include sodium cyclopentadienide (NaC₅H₅) and trityl sodium ((C₆H₅)₃CNa).<ref>Template:OrgSynth</ref> Sodium naphthalene, Na⁺[C₁₀H₈•]⁻, a strong reducing agent, forms upon mixing Na and naphthalene in ethereal solutions.Template:Sfn

Intermetallic compounds

Sodium forms alloys with many metals, such as potassium, calcium, lead, and the group 11 and 12 elements. Sodium and potassium form KNa₂ and NaK. NaK is 40–90% potassium and it is liquid at ambient temperature. It is an excellent thermal and electrical conductor. Sodium-calcium alloys are by-products of the electrolytic production of sodium from a binary salt mixture of NaCl-CaCl₂ and ternary mixture NaCl-CaCl₂-BaCl₂. Calcium is only partially miscible with sodium, and the 1–2% of it dissolved in the sodium obtained from said mixtures can be precipitated by cooling to 120 °C and filtering.<ref name="pearson1991">Template:Cite book</ref>

In a liquid state, sodium is completely miscible with lead. There are several methods to make sodium-lead alloys. One is to melt them together and another is to deposit sodium electrolytically on molten lead cathodes. NaPb₃, NaPb, Na₉Pb₄, Na₅Pb₂, and Na₁₅Pb₄ are some of the known sodium-lead alloys. Sodium also forms alloys with gold (NaAu₂) and silver (NaAg₂). Group 12 metals (zinc, cadmium and mercury) are known to make alloys with sodium. NaZn₁₃ and NaCd₂ are alloys of zinc and cadmium. Sodium and mercury form NaHg, NaHg₄, NaHg₂, Na₃Hg₂, and Na₃Hg.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

Because of its importance in human health, salt has long been an important commodity. In medieval Europe, a compound of sodium with the Latin name of sodanum was used as a headache remedy. The name sodium is thought to originate from the Arabic suda, meaning headache, as the headache-alleviating properties of sodium carbonate or soda were well known in early times.<ref name="newton">Template:Cite book</ref>

Although sodium, sometimes called soda, had long been recognized in compounds, the metal itself was not isolated until 1807 by Sir Humphry Davy through the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide.<ref name="Davy1807">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="weeks">Template:Cite journal</ref> In 1809, the German physicist and chemist Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert proposed the names Natronium for Humphry Davy's "sodium" and Kalium for Davy's "potassium".<ref>Humphry Davy (1809) "Ueber einige neue Erscheinungen chemischer Veränderungen, welche durch die Electricität bewirkt werden; insbesondere über die Zersetzung der feuerbeständigen Alkalien, die Darstellung der neuen Körper, welche ihre Basen ausmachen, und die Natur der Alkalien überhaupt" (On some new phenomena of chemical changes that are achieved by electricity; particularly the decomposition of flame-resistant alkalis [i.e., alkalies that cannot be reduced to their base metals by flames], the preparation of new substances that constitute their [metallic] bases, and the nature of alkalies generally), Annalen der Physik, 31 (2) : 113–175; see footnote p. 157. Template:Webarchive From p. 157: "In unserer deutschen Nomenclatur würde ich die Namen Kalium und Natronium vorschlagen, wenn man nicht lieber bei den von Herrn Erman gebrauchten und von mehreren angenommenen Benennungen Kali-Metalloid and Natron-Metalloid, bis zur völligen Aufklärung der chemischen Natur dieser räthzelhaften Körper bleiben will. Oder vielleicht findet man es noch zweckmässiger fürs Erste zwei Klassen zu machen, Metalle und Metalloide, und in die letztere Kalium und Natronium zu setzen. — Gilbert." (In our German nomenclature, I would suggest the names Kalium and Natronium, if one would not rather continue with the appellations Kali-metalloid and Natron-metalloid which are used by Mr. Erman and accepted by several [people], until the complete clarification of the chemical nature of these puzzling substances. Or perhaps one finds it yet more advisable for the present to create two classes, metals and metalloids, and to place Kalium and Natronium in the latter – Gilbert.)</ref>

The chemical abbreviation for sodium was first published in 1814 by Jöns Jakob Berzelius in his system of atomic symbols,<ref>J. Jacob Berzelius, Försök, att, genom användandet af den electrokemiska theorien och de kemiska proportionerna, grundlägga ett rent vettenskapligt system för mineralogien [Attempt, by the use of electrochemical theory and chemical proportions, to found a pure scientific system for mineralogy] (Stockholm, Sweden: A. Gadelius, 1814), p. 87.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is an abbreviation of the element's Neo-Latin name natrium, which refers to the Egyptian natron,<ref name="newton" /> a natural mineral salt mainly consisting of hydrated sodium carbonate. Natron historically had several important industrial and household uses, later eclipsed by other sodium compounds.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Sodium imparts an intense yellow color to flames. As early as 1860, Kirchhoff and Bunsen noted the high sensitivity of a sodium flame test, and stated in Annalen der Physik und Chemie:<ref name="bunsen1">Template:Cite journal</ref>

In a corner of our 60 m³ room farthest away from the apparatus, we exploded 3 mg of sodium chlorate with milk sugar while observing the nonluminous flame before the slit. After a while, it glowed a bright yellow and showed a strong sodium line that disappeared only after 10 minutes. From the weight of the sodium salt and the volume of air in the room, we easily calculate that one part by weight of air could not contain more than 1/20 millionth weight of sodium.

Occurrence

The Earth's crust contains 2.27% sodium, making it the sixth most abundant element on Earth and the fourth most abundant metal, behind aluminium, iron, calcium, and magnesium and ahead of potassium.Template:SfnSodium's estimated oceanic abundance is 10.8 grams per liter.<ref name = "abundancecrc">Template:Cite book</ref> Because of its high reactivity, it is never found as a pure element. It is found in many minerals, some very soluble, such as halite and natron, others much less soluble, such as amphibole and zeolite. The insolubility of certain sodium minerals such as cryolite and feldspar arises from their polymeric anions, which in the case of feldspar is a polysilicate. In the universe, sodium is the 15th most abundant element with a 20,000 parts-per-billion abundance,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> making sodium 0.002% of the total atoms in the universe.

Astronomical observations

Atomic sodium has a very strong Template:Anchor spectral line in the yellow-orange part of the spectrum (the same line as is used in sodium-vapour street lights). This appears as an absorption line in many types of stars, including the Sun. The line was first studied in 1814 by Joseph von Fraunhofer during his investigation of the lines in the solar spectrum, now known as the Fraunhofer lines. Fraunhofer named it the "D" line, although it is now known to actually be a group of closely spaced lines split by a fine and hyperfine structure.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

The strength of the D line allows its detection in many other astronomical environments. In stars, it is seen in any whose surfaces are cool enough for sodium to exist in atomic form (rather than ionised). This corresponds to stars of roughly F-type and cooler. Many other stars appear to have a sodium absorption line, but this is actually caused by gas in the foreground interstellar medium. The two can be distinguished via high-resolution spectroscopy, because interstellar lines are much narrower than those broadened by stellar rotation.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Sodium has also been detected in numerous Solar System environments, including the exospheres of Mercury<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Moon,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and numerous other bodies. Some comets have a sodium tail,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which was first detected in observations of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997.<ref name="Cremonese1997">Template:Cite journal</ref> Sodium has even been detected in the atmospheres of some extrasolar planets via transit spectroscopy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Commercial production

Employed in rather specialized applications, about 100,000 tonnes of metallic sodium are produced annually.<ref name="Ullmann" /> Metallic sodium was first produced commercially in the late nineteenth century<ref name="pearson1991" /> by carbothermal reduction of sodium carbonate at 1100 °C, as the first step of the Deville process for the production of aluminium:<ref name="kirk">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Na₂CO₃ + 2 C → 2 Na + 3 CO

The high demand for aluminium created the need for the production of sodium. The introduction of the Hall–Héroult process for the production of aluminium by electrolysing a molten salt bath ended the need for large quantities of sodium. A related process based on the reduction of sodium hydroxide was developed in 1886.<ref name="kirk" />

Sodium is now produced commercially through the electrolysis of molten sodium chloride (common salt), based on a process patented in 1924.<ref name="pauling">Pauling, Linus, General Chemistry, 1970 ed., Dover Publications</ref><ref name="losal">Template:Cite web</ref> This is done in a Downs cell in which the NaCl is mixed with calcium chloride to lower the melting point below 700 °C.<ref>Template:Cite AV media Template:Cbignore</ref> As calcium is less electropositive than sodium, no calcium will be deposited at the cathode.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This method is less expensive than the previous Castner process (the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> If sodium of high purity is required, it can be distilled once or several times.

The market for sodium is volatile due to the difficulty in its storage and shipping; it must be stored under a dry inert gas atmosphere or anhydrous mineral oil to prevent the formation of a surface layer of sodium oxide or sodium superoxide.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Uses

Template:See also Though metallic sodium has some important uses, the major applications for sodium use compounds; millions of tons of sodium chloride, hydroxide, and carbonate are produced annually. Sodium chloride is extensively used for anti-icing and de-icing and as a preservative; examples of the uses of sodium bicarbonate include baking, as a raising agent, and sodablasting. Along with potassium, many important medicines have sodium added to improve their bioavailability; though potassium is the better ion in most cases, sodium is chosen for its lower price and atomic weight.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Sodium hydride is used as a base for various reactions (such as the aldol reaction) in organic chemistry.

Metallic sodium is used mainly for the production of sodium borohydride, sodium azide, indigo, and triphenylphosphine. A once-common use was the making of tetraethyllead and titanium metal; because of the move away from TEL and new titanium production methods, the production of sodium declined after 1970.<ref name="Ullmann">Alfred Klemm, Gabriele Hartmann, Ludwig Lange, "Sodium and Sodium Alloys" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Template:Doi</ref> Sodium is also used as an alloying metal, an anti-scaling agent,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and as a reducing agent for metals when other materials are ineffective.

Note the free element is not used as a scaling agent, ions in the water are exchanged for sodium ions. Sodium plasma ("vapor") lamps are often used for street lighting in cities, shedding light that ranges from yellow-orange to peach as the pressure increases.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> By itself or with potassium, sodium is a desiccant; it gives an intense blue coloration with benzophenone when the desiccate is dry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In organic synthesis, sodium is used in various reactions such as the Birch reduction, and the sodium fusion test is conducted to qualitatively analyse compounds.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Sodium reacts with alcohols and gives alkoxides, and when sodium is dissolved in ammonia solution, it can be used to reduce alkynes to trans-alkenes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Lasers emitting light at the sodium D line are used to create artificial laser guide stars that assist in the adaptive optics for land-based visible-light telescopes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Heat transfer

File:Phase diagram potassium sodium s l.svg

Sodium-potassium alloy (NaK) phase diagram, showing the melting point of sodium as a function of potassium concentration. NaK with 77% potassium is eutectic and has the lowest melting point of the NaK alloys at −12.6 °C.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Liquid sodium is used as a heat transfer fluid in sodium-cooled fast reactors<ref name="sodiumcoolant">Sodium as a Fast Reactor Coolant Template:Webarchive presented by Thomas H. Fanning. Nuclear Engineering Division. U.S. Department of Energy. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Topical Seminar Series on Sodium Fast Reactors. 3 May 2007</ref> because it has the high thermal conductivity and low neutron absorption cross section required to achieve a high neutron flux in the reactor.<ref name="nrc">Template:Cite web</ref> The high boiling point of sodium allows the reactor to operate at ambient (normal) pressure,<ref name="nrc" /> but drawbacks include its opacity, which hinders visual maintenance, and its strongly reducing properties. Sodium will explode in contact with water, although it will only burn gently in air.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Radioactive sodium-24 may be produced by neutron bombardment during operation, posing a slight radiation hazard; the radioactivity stops within a few days after removal from the reactor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> If a reactor needs to be shut down frequently, sodium-potassium alloy (NaK) is used. Because NaK is a liquid at room temperature, the coolant does not solidify in the pipes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The pyrophoricity of the NaK means extra precautions must be taken to prevent and detect leaks.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Another heat transfer application of sodium is in poppet valves in high-performance internal combustion engines; the valve stems are partially filled with sodium and work as a heat pipe to cool the valves.<ref>Template:Cite patent</ref>

Biological role

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Biological role in humans

In humans, sodium is an essential mineral that regulates blood volume, blood pressure, osmotic equilibrium and pH. The minimum physiological requirement for sodium is estimated to range from about 120 milligrams per day in newborns to 500 milligrams per day over the age of 10.<ref name="r31">Template:Cite web</ref>

Diet

Sodium chloride, also known as 'edible salt' or 'table salt'<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (chemical formula Template:Chem2), is the principal source of sodium (Template:Chem2) in the diet and is used as seasoning and preservative in such commodities as pickled preserves and jerky. For Americans, most sodium chloride comes from processed foods.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other sources of sodium are its natural occurrence in food and such food additives as monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium nitrite, sodium saccharin, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and sodium benzoate.<ref name="medline">Template:Cite web</ref>

The U.S. Institute of Medicine set its tolerable upper intake level for sodium at 2.3 grams per day,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but the average person in the United States consumes 3.4 grams per day.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The American Heart Association recommends no more than 1.5 g of sodium per day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium, which is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, has determined that there isn't enough evidence from research studies to establish Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) and Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) values for sodium. As a result, the committee has established Adequate Intake (AI) levels instead, as follows. The sodium AI for infants of 0–6 months is established at 110 mg/day, 7–12 months: 370 mg/day; for children 1–3 years: 800 mg/day, 4–8 years: 1,000 mg/day; for adolescents: 9–13 years – 1,200 mg/day, 14–18 years 1,500 mg/day; for adults regardless of their age or sex: 1,500 mg/day.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Sodium chloride (Template:Chem2) contains approximately 39.34% of its total mass as elemental sodium (Template:Chem2). This means that Template:Val of sodium chloride contains approximately Template:Val of elemental sodium.<ref name="elemental">Template:Cite web</ref> For example, to find out how much sodium chloride contains 1500 mg of elemental sodium (the value of 1500 mg sodium is the adequate intake (AI) for an adult), we can use the proportion:

393.4 mg Na : 1000 mg NaCl = 1500 mg Na : x mg NaCl

Solving for x gives us the amount of sodium chloride that contains 1500 mg of elemental sodium

x = (1500 mg Na × 1000 mg NaCl) / 393.4 mg Na = 3812.91 mg

This mean that 3812.91 mg of sodium chloride contain 1500 mg of elemental sodium.<ref name="elemental"/>

High sodium consumption

Template:Main High sodium consumption is unhealthy, and can lead to alteration in the mechanical performance of the heart.<ref name="Patel-2020">Template:Cite journal</ref> High sodium consumption is also associated with chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, and stroke.<ref name="Patel-2020" />

High blood pressure

There is a strong correlation between higher sodium intake and higher blood pressure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Studies have found that lowering sodium intake by 2 g per day tends to lower systolic blood pressure by about two to four mm Hg.<ref name="Impact">Template:Cite journal</ref> It has been estimated that such a decrease in sodium intake would lead to 9–17% fewer cases of hypertension.<ref name="Impact" />

Hypertension causes 7.6 million premature deaths worldwide each year.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Since edible salt contains about 39.3% sodium<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>—the rest being chlorine and trace chemicals; thus, 2.3 g sodium is about 5.9 g, or 5.3 ml, of salt—about one US teaspoon.<ref>Table Salt Conversion Template:Webarchive. Traditionaloven.com. Retrieved on 11 November 2015.</ref><ref name="fda">Template:Cite web</ref>

One scientific review found that people with or without hypertension who excreted less than 3 grams of sodium per day in their urine (and therefore were taking in less than 3 g/d) had a higher risk of death, stroke, or heart attack than those excreting 4 to 5 grams per day.<ref name="Andrew Mente-2016" /> Levels of 7 g per day or more in people with hypertension were associated with higher mortality and cardiovascular events, but this was not found to be true for people without hypertension.<ref name="Andrew Mente-2016">Template:Cite journal</ref> The US FDA states that adults with hypertension and prehypertension should reduce daily sodium intake to 1.5 g.<ref name="fda" />

Physiology

The renin–angiotensin system regulates the amount of fluid and sodium concentration in the body. Reduction of blood pressure and sodium concentration in the kidney result in the production of renin, which in turn produces aldosterone and angiotensin, which stimulates the reabsorption of sodium back into the bloodstream. When the concentration of sodium increases, the production of renin decreases, and the sodium concentration returns to normal.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The sodium ion (Na⁺) is an important electrolyte in neuron function, and in osmoregulation between cells and the extracellular fluid. This is accomplished in all animals by Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase, an active transporter pumping ions against the gradient, and sodium/potassium channels.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The difference in extracellular and intracellular ion concentration, maintained by the sodium-potassium pump, produce electrical signals in the form of action potentials that supports cardiac muscle contraction and promote long distance communication between neurons.<ref name="Gagnon 2021" /> Sodium is the most prevalent metallic ion in extracellular fluid.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In humans, unusually low or high sodium levels in the blood is recognized in medicine as hyponatremia and hypernatremia. These conditions may be caused by genetic factors, ageing, or prolonged vomiting or diarrhea.<ref> Template:Cite book </ref>

Biological role in plants

In C4 plants, sodium is a micronutrient that aids metabolism, specifically in regeneration of phosphoenolpyruvate and synthesis of chlorophyll.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In others, it substitutes for potassium in several roles, such as maintaining turgor pressure and aiding in the opening and closing of stomata.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Excess sodium in the soil can limit the uptake of water by decreasing the water potential, which may result in plant wilting; excess concentrations in the cytoplasm can lead to enzyme inhibition, which in turn causes necrosis and chlorosis.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In response, some plants have developed mechanisms to limit sodium uptake in the roots, to store it in cell vacuoles, and restrict salt transport from roots to leaves.<ref name="halo">Template:Cite web</ref> Excess sodium may also be stored in old plant tissue, limiting the damage to new growth. Halophytes have adapted to be able to flourish in sodium rich environments.<ref name="halo" />

Safety and precautions

Template:Chembox Sodium forms flammable hydrogen and caustic sodium hydroxide on contact with water;<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> ingestion and contact with moisture on skin, eyes or mucous membranes can cause severe burns.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="prudent">Template:Cite book</ref> Sodium spontaneously explodes in the presence of water due to the formation of hydrogen (highly explosive) and sodium hydroxide (which dissolves in the water, liberating more surface). However, sodium exposed to air and ignited or reaching autoignition (reported to occur when a molten pool of sodium reaches about Template:Cvt)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> displays a relatively mild fire.

In the case of massive (non-molten) pieces of sodium, the reaction with oxygen eventually becomes slow due to formation of a protective layer.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Fire extinguishers based on water accelerate sodium fires. Those based on carbon dioxide and bromochlorodifluoromethane should not be used on sodium fire.<ref name="prudent" /> Metal fires are Class D, but not all Class D extinguishers are effective when used to extinguish sodium fires. An effective extinguishing agent for sodium fires is Met-L-X.<ref name="prudent" /> Other effective agents include Lith-X, which has graphite powder and an organophosphate flame retardant, and dry sand.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Sodium fires are prevented in nuclear reactors by isolating sodium from oxygen with surrounding pipes containing inert gas.<ref name="fission">Template:Cite book</ref> Pool-type sodium fires are prevented using diverse design measures called catch pan systems. They collect leaking sodium into a leak-recovery tank where it is isolated from oxygen.<ref name="fission" />

Liquid sodium fires are more dangerous to handle than solid sodium fires, particularly if there is insufficient experience with the safe handling of molten sodium. In a technical report for the United States Fire Administration,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite tech report</ref> R. J. Gordon writes (emphasis in original)

Template:Blockquote