Splat | WiseTome.com

Yes, it was first snow for me today. As I said in the last post, I moved from coasts of India, a warm humid place, to Denver, USA, a dry and cold place.

I had almost adjusted to the place, and in the morning I woke up to find that nature had painted a quite different picture for me. It had snowed and everything was padded white.

It seemed so surreal to me - like the scene outside my balcony was put there taken right out of some National Geographic program. In spite of my dislike towards cold, I could not help but walk out into the balcony, not minding the chill the thin snow covered wooden floor sent up my sandal adorned feet.

Then, there was something else I noticed. All the sidewalks and roads were clean where as the rest of the open areas were covered with inches of snow. I made a mental note and hurried to office.

Once I was back, I did a little research and found that salt can be used for melting ice. It is a ‘Freezing Point Depression’ agent. I know - it sounds high chemistry, but all it does is, it brings down the freezing point of water. After a little talk with few of my new buddies and I learned that when a snow shower is predicted, they spray Magnesium Chloride (MgCl₂) on the roads and pavements. This melts the snow that falls on them, and the water goes down the drain.

This is something I learned today, but there arises a question. Does Magnesium Chloride not cause adverse effects on the ecology? I am not sure about it - do you know?