![]() ![]() Lithium has a very low density of 0.534 g/cm 3, comparable with that of pine wood. While it has one of the lowest melting points among all metals (180 ☌), it has the highest melting and boiling points of the alkali metals. When cut, it possesses a silvery-white color that quickly changes to gray due to oxidation. Lithium metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife. Lithium's low reactivity compared to other alkali metals is due to the proximity of its valence electron to its nucleus (the remaining two electrons are in lithium's 1s orbital and are much lower in energy, and therefore they do not participate in chemical bonds). Because of this, it is a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as a highly reactive element, though the least reactive of the alkali metals. Like the other alkali metals, lithium has a single valence electron that is easily given up to form a cation. The lithium ion Li + administered as any of several lithium salts has proved to be useful as a mood-stabilizing drug in the treatment of bipolar disorder, due to neurological effects of the ion in the human body. Non-vital functions have not been ruled out. The element serves no apparent vital biological function, since animals and plants survive in good health without it. Trace amounts of lithium are present in all organisms. These uses consume more than half of lithium production. Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, high strength-to-weight alloys used in aircraft, lithium batteries and lithium-ion batteries. The transmutation of lithium atoms to helium in 1932 was the first fully man-made nuclear reaction, and lithium-6 deuteride serves as a fusion fuel in staged thermonuclear weapons. For related reasons, lithium has important links to nuclear physics. Because of its relative nuclear instability, lithium is less common in the solar system than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements even though the nuclei are very light in atomic weight. The nuclei of lithium verge on instability, since the two stable lithium isotopes found in nature have among the lowest binding energies per nucleon of all stable nuclides. On a commercial scale, lithium is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride. Lithium occurs in a number of pegmatitic minerals, but due to its solubility as an ion is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines and clays. ![]() ![]() Because of its high reactivity, lithium never occurs freely in nature, and instead, only appears in compounds, which are usually ionic. When cut open, lithium exhibits a metallic luster, but contact with moist air corrodes the surface quickly to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. For this reason, it is typically stored in mineral oil. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. It is a soft, silver-white metal belonging to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. Lithium is a chemical element with symbol Li and atomic number 3. Risk calculators and risk factors for LithiumĮditor-In-Chief: C. US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Lithium Articles on Lithium in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ ![]()
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