Sodium chloride crystals are cubic in form . Table salt, when viewed under a magnifying glass , can be seen to consist of tiny cubes tightly bound together . The atomic weight of elemental chlorine is 35.4527 and that of sodium is 22.989768. Chemical Sampling Information database. Discrete crystals can be seen in rock salt used for deicing.
Fine granules are typical of table salt and even finer popcorn salt.
Kosher salt, pickling salt and ice cream salt are slightly coarser. Small compressed pellets are used in water softeners and large salt blocks are used as salt licks for livestock. When viewed under strong magnification, all sodium chloride is crystalline . Very large cubic crystals, of two, three or more inches in size, can be seen in some salt mines. They are transparent and cleave into perfect cubes when struck with a hard object.