I did rather like Melbourne better than Sydney! ;-)

Theoretically there might be different impurities in the water from the two sites that affect one's ability to taste MgSO4, but I am sceptical about it, and that should not affect the rate of solution in general.

However, there are too few controls. Did the MgSO4 come from the same bottle? From the same manufacturer? Did it have additives to make it more palatable? Were the crystals of the same size? Was the water at the same temperature?

Etc, EtCO4?

Sorry I can't do better!

Big

difference in speed of dissolution is well known for

magnesium salts depending on source.

But difference in taste -- I do not believe.

All magnesium sulphate  solutions are bitter,

the degree of that depends on concentration only.

Georg

Hmmmmm..  You know Georg, I suspect that your reply might contain the germ of an answer for both of the questions that I had more or less dismissed. There are two reasons that I can think of for the differences in solubility that you mention; large crystal size would not affect ultimate solubility, but it would reduce the speed of solubility. However, if two samples differed in ultimate solubility, I would expect the reason to be a difference in the water of crystallisation. One sample could be MgSO4.H2O (plain MgSO4 seems unlikely) and the other MgSO4.7H2O. Roughly speaking the latter would contain roughly sixty percent as much actual MgSO4 as the former. It also should dissolve faster.

As the victim... er... sucker...  errr... patient... errrrr... client would be drinking a lower concentration, he might well find the bitter taste reduced in comparison to the horrible Sydney stuff he had been used to, even though if he were to adjust his dosage properly, there should be no difference in dosage.

Mind you, if he is drinking it for the usual reasons, then it might be a good move to think of adopting a safer motive measure.

Just a thought....

Hello Jon,

this is possible. Kieserite (1xH2O) is often slow in

dissolution, slower than the heptahydrate.

Georg