Sodium compounds had been known for some time prior to 1807, when English chemist Sir Humphrey Davy (1778-1829) succeeded in isolating sodium itself. The element is represented by a chemical symbol (Na), reflecting its Latin name ‘natrium'. In its pure form, sodium has a bright, shiny surface, but in order to preserve this appearance, it must be stored in oil: sodium reacts quickly with oxygen, forming a white crust of sodium oxide. Pure sodium never occurs in nature; instead, it combines readily with other substances to form compounds, many of which are among the most widely used chemicals in industry. It is also highly soluble: thus whereas sodium and potassium occur in crystal rocks at about the same ratio, sodium is about 30 times more abundant in sea-water than its sister element.

 Though the extraction of sodium involves the use of a special process, the metal is plentiful in the form of sodium chloride, better known as table salt. In fact, the term salt in chemistry refers generally to any combination of a metal with a nonmetal. More specifically, salts are (along with water) the product of reactions between acids and bases. Sodium chloride is so easy to obtain, and therefore so cheap, that most industries making other sodium compounds use it, simply separating out the chloride before adding other elements. The United States is the world's largest producer of sodium chloride, obtained primarily from brine, a term used to describe any solution of sodium chloride in water. Brine comes from seawater, subterranean wells, and desert lakes, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Another source of sodium chloride is rock salt, created underground by the evaporation of long-buried saltwater seas. Other top sodium-chloride-producing nations include China, Germany, Great Britain, France, India, and various countries in the former Soviet Union. Salt may be cheap and plentiful for the world in general, but there are places where it is a precious commodity. One such place is the Sahara Desert, where salt caravans ply a brisk trade today, much as they have since ancient times.

Modern methods for the production of sodium represent an improvement in the technique Davy used in 1807, although the basic principle is the same. Though several decades passed before electricity came into widespread public use, scientists had been studying its properties for years, and Davy applied it in a process called electrolysis. Electrolysis is the use of an electric current to produce a chemical reaction, in this case, to separate sodium from the other element or elements with which it is combined. Davy first fused or melted a sample of sodium chloride, then electrolyzed it. Using an electrode, a device that conducts electricity and is used to emit or collect electric charge, he separated the sodium chloride in such a way that liquid sodium metal collected on the cathode, or negatively charged end. Meanwhile, the gaseous chlorine was released through the anode, or the positively charged end. The apparatus used for sodium separation today is known as the Downs cell, after its inventor, J. C. Downs. In a Downs cell, sodium chloride and calcium chloride are combined in a molten mixture in which the presence of calcium chloride lowers the melting point of the sodium chloride by more than 30%. When an electric current is passed through the mixture, sodium ions move to the cathode, where they pick up electrons to become sodium atoms. At the same time, ions of chlorine migrate to the anode, losing electrons to become chlorine atoms. Sodium is a low-density material that floats on water, and in the Downs cell, the molten sodium rises to the top, where it is drawn off. The chlorine gas is allowed to escape through a vent at the top of the anode end of the cell, and the resulting sodium metal, that is, the elemental form of sodium, is about 99.8% pure.

Sodium chloride is by far the most widely known and commonly used sodium compound and this in itself is a distinction, given the fact that so many sodium compounds are a part of our daily life. Today people think of salt primarily as a seasoning to enhance the taste of food, but prior to the development of refrigeration, it was vital as a preservative because it kept microbes away from otherwise perishable food items. Salt does not merely improve the taste of food; it is an essential nutrient. Sodium compounds regulate transmission of signals through the nervous system, alter the permeability of membranes, and perform a number of other life-preserving functions. On the other hand, too much salt can aggravate high blood pressure. Thus, since the 1970s and 1980s, food manufacturers have increasingly offered products low in sodium, a major selling point for health-conscious consumers.

In addition to its widespread use in consumer goods, sodium chloride is the principal source of sodium used in making other sodium compounds. These include sodium hydroxide, for manufacturing cellulose products such as film, rayon, soaps, and paper, and for refining petroleum. In its application as a cleaning solution, sodium hydroxide is known as caustic soda or lye. Another widely used sodium compound is sodium carbonate or, soda ash, applied in glass-making, paper production, textile manufacturing, and other areas, such as the production of soaps and detergents. Sodium also can be combined with carbon to produce sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda. Sodium sulfate, sometimes known as salt cake, is used for making cardboard and Kraft paper. Yet another widely used sodium compound is sodium silicate, or "water glass," used in the production of soaps, detergents, and adhesives; in water treatment; and in bleaching and sizing of textiles. Still other sodium compounds used by industry and/or consumers include sodium borate, or borax; sodium tartrate, or sal tartar; the explosive sodium nitrate, or Chilean salt-peter; and the food additive monosodium glutamate (MSG). Perhaps ironically, there are few uses for pure metallic sodium. Once applied as an "anti-knock" additive in leaded gasoline, before those products were phased out for environmental reasons, metallic sodium is now used as a heat-exchange medium in nuclear reactors. But its widest application is in the production of the many other sodium compounds used around the world.