What is calcium carbonate?
Calcium carbonate, or CaCO3, comprises more than 4% of the earths crust and is found throughout the world. Its most common natural forms are chalk, limestone, and marble, produced by the sedimentation of the shells of small fossilized snails, shellfish, and coral over millions of years. Although all three forms are identical in chemical terms, they differ in many other respects, including purity, whiteness, thickness and homogeneity. Calcium carbonate is one of the most useful and versatile materials known to man. Many of us encounter calcium carbonate for the first time in the school classroom, where we use blackboard chalk. Chalk has been used as a writing tool for over 10,000 years and is a fine, microcrystalline material. As limestone, calcium carbonate is a biogenic rock, and is more compacted than chalk. As marble, calcium carbonate is a coarse-crystalline, metamorphic rock, which is formed when chalk or limestone is recrystallised under conditions of high temperature and pressur
Calcium carbonate is an important chemical compound. It consists of one atom of calcium bonded to one atom of carbon and three atoms of oxygen. The molecular formula of calcium carbonate is CaCO3. Common names for calcium carbonate are: limestone, calcite, aragonite, chalk, and marble. These are contain high amounts of calcium carbonate, but with different processes underlying their formation. Calcium carbonate is used in cements and mortars, producing lime, in the steel industry, glass industry, and as an ornamental stone. The appearance of calcium carbonate is generally that of a white powder or stone. A characteristic quality of calcium carbonate is that it will fizz and release carbon dioxide upon contact with a strong acid, such as hydrochloric acid. After the carbon dioxide is released, the remainder is calcium oxide (CaO), commonly called quicklime. When calcium carbonate comes into contact with water saturated with carbon dioxide, it forms a soluble compound, calcium bicarbonat
THERE ARE MANY GENERIC names for CALCIUM REPLACEMENTS: calcium acetate, calcium carbonate, calcium chloride, calcium citrate, calcium glubionate, calcium gluceptate, calcium gluconate,calcium lactate and calcium phosphate. In turn, each one has a BRAND name(s). The brand names for calcium carbonate are : Cal-Plus, Caltrate 600, Os-Cal, Oyster Shell Calcium-500, Titracal, Tums-EX and others. Calcium carbonate occurs in nature in various forms, as calcite, chalk and limestone. Besides being used to make a calcium dietary supplement like Os-Cal, other uses for calcium carbonate include: used in making toothpaste and polishes, and manufacture of lime and cement. ALSO- there is calcium carbide (used in industry), calcium cyanamide (used as a fertilizer), calcium cyclamate (used as a sweetening agent in soft drinks), calcium nitrate (used to make fertilizer AND matches and explosives[remember Olkahoma City bombing?]), and calcium propionate (used in bakery products to retard spoilage and fun
Calcium is a mineral that is found naturally in foods. Calcium is necessary for many normal functions of the body, especially bone formation and maintenance. Calcium can also bind to other minerals (such as phosphate) and aid in their removal from the body. Calcium carbonate is used to prevent and to treat calcium deficiencies. Calcium carbonate may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.
