Stalactite a cave it will drip down. When the solution comes into contact with air the chemical reaction that created it is reversed and particles of calcium carbonate are deposited. The reversed reaction is: An average growth rate is a year. The quickest growing stalactites are those formed by a constant supply of slow dripping water rich in calcium carbonate (CaCO) and carbon dioxide (CO), which can grow at per year. The drip rate must be slow enough to allow the CO to degas from the solution into the cave atmosphere, resulting in deposition of CaCO on the stalactite. Too fast
Calcium carbonate equilibrium pressure must exceed total atmospheric pressure of 101 kPa, which happens at 898 °C. Calcium carbonate is poorly soluble in pure water (47 mg/L at normal atmospheric CO partial pressure as shown below). The equilibrium of its solution is given by the equation (with dissolved calcium carbonate on the right): where the solubility product for [Ca] [CO] is given as anywhere from "K" = 3.7×10 to "K" = 8.7×10 at 25 °C, depending upon the data source. What the equation means is that the product of molar concentration of calcium ions (moles of dissolved Ca per liter of solution)