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Frooper t1_je4f12i wrote

Reply to comment by adamginsburg in Is NaCl relatively common in the galaxy/universe? by PHealthy

Absolutely fascinating, thanks for commenting. One thing: NaCl is not a molecule, right? There is not a single NaCl molecule on earth, just the ionic compound. Or is this different in space?

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adamginsburg t1_je4rmd8 wrote

NaCl, as a single pairing of one Na atom and one Cl atom, is a molecule. But I think you're right, we consider crystalline ionic compounds to be ionic compounds, not molecules, when they're solids. Probably there are some isolated NaCl molecules on Earth, but you're right that when we encounter salt, it's mostly in crystals.

However, in gas phase, it floats around as NaCl. If you heated NaCl hot enough in a lab at atmospheric pressure (~1500 K according to another poster), you would have a bunch of NaCl gas floating around.

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