Lithium

 Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere or inert liquid such as purified kerosene or mineral oil. When cut, it exhibits a metallic luster, but moist air corrodes it quickly to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It never occurs freely in nature, but only in (usually ionic) compounds, such as pegmatitic  minerals, which were once the main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines. Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride. potass The nucleus of the lithium atom verges on instability, since the two stable lithium isotopes found in nature have among the lowest binding energies per nucleon of all stable nuclides. Because of its relative nuclear instability, lithium is less common in the solar system than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements even though its nuclei are very light: it is an exception to the trend that heavier nuclei are less common. For related reasons, lithium has important uses in nuclear physics. The name derives from the Latin lithos for "stone" because lithium was thought to exist only in minerals at that time. It was discovered by the Swedish mineralogist Johan August Arfwedson in 1818 in the mineral petalite LiAl(Si2O5)2. Lithium was isolated in 1855 by the German chemists Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen. Lithium was discovered in the mineral petalite (LiAl(Si2O5)2) by Johann August Arfvedson in 1817. It was first isolated by William Thomas Brande and Sir Humphrey Davy through the electrolysis of lithium oxide (Li2O). Today, larger amounts of the metal are obtained through the electrolysis of lithium chloride (LiCl). Lithium is not found free in nature and makes up only 0.0007% of the earth's crust. The transmutation of lithium atoms to helium in 1932 was the first fully man-made nuclear reaction, and lithium deuteride serves as a fusion fuel in staged thermonuclear weapons. Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, lithium batteries, and lithium-ion batteries. These uses consume more than three-quarters of lithium production. Lithium is present in biological systems in trace amounts; its functions are uncertain. Lithium salts have proven to be useful as a mood stabilizer and antidepressant in the treatment of mental illness such as bipolar disorder. The alkali metals are also called the lithium family, after its leading element. Like the other alkali metals (which are sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs), and francium (Fr)), lithium has a single valence electron that is easily given up to form a cation. Because of this, lithium is a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as a highly reactive element, though it is the least reactive of the alkali metals. Lithium's low reactivity is due to the proximity of its valence electron to its nucleus (the remaining two electrons are in the 1s orbital, much lower in energy, and do not participate in chemical bonds). Molten lithium is significantly more reactive than its solid form. Lithium metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife. When cut, it possesses a silvery-white color that quickly changes to gray as it oxidizes to lithium oxide. Its melting point of 180.50 °C (453.65 K; 356.90 °F) and its boiling point of 1,342 °C (1,615 K; 2,448 °F) are each the highest of all the alkali metals while its density of 0.534 g/cm3 is the lowest. Lithium has a very low density (0.534 g/cm3), comparable with pine wood. It is the least dense of all elements that are solids at room temperature; the next lightest solid element (potassium, at 0.862 g/cm3) is more than 60% denser. Apart from helium and hydrogen, as a solid it is less dense than any other element as a liquid, being only two-thirds as dense as liquid nitrogen (0.808 g/cm3). Lithium can float on the lightest hydrocarbon oils and is one of only three metals that can float on water, the other two being sodium and potassium.Lithium. Lithium floating in oil. Lithium's coefficient of thermal expansion is twice that of aluminium and almost four times that of iron. Lithium is superconductive below 400 μK at standard pressure and at higher temperatures (more than 9 K) at very high pressures (>20 GPa). At temperatures below 70 K, lithium, like sodium, undergoes diffusionless phase change transformations. At 4.2 K it has a rhombohedral crystal system (with a nine-layer repeat spacing); at higher temperatures it transforms to face-centered cubic and then body-centered cubic. At liquid-helium temperatures (4 K) the rhombohedral structure is prevalent. Multiple allotropic forms have been identified for lithium at high pressures. Lithium has a mass specific heat capacity of 3.58 kilojoules per kilogram-kelvin, the highest of all solids. Because of this, lithium metal is often used in coolants for heat transfer applications.

 Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere or inert liquid such as purified kerosene or mineral oil. When cut, it exhibits a metallic luster, but moist air corrodes it quickly to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It never occurs freely in nature, but only in (usually ionic) compounds, such as pegmatitic  minerals, which were once the main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines. Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride. potass The nucleus of the lithium atom verges on instability, since the two stable lithium isotopes found in nature have among the lowest binding energies per nucleon of all stable nuclides. Because of its relative nuclear instability, lithium is less common in the solar system than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements even though its nuclei are very light: it is an exception to the trend that heavier nuclei are less common. For related reasons, lithium has important uses in nuclear physics. The name derives from the Latin lithos for "stone" because lithium was thought to exist only in minerals at that time. It was discovered by the Swedish mineralogist Johan August Arfwedson in 1818 in the mineral petalite LiAl(Si2O5)2. Lithium was isolated in 1855 by the German chemists Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen. Lithium was discovered in the mineral petalite (LiAl(Si2O5)2) by Johann August Arfvedson in 1817. It was first isolated by William Thomas Brande and Sir Humphrey Davy through the electrolysis of lithium oxide (Li2O). Today, larger amounts of the metal are obtained through the electrolysis of lithium chloride (LiCl). Lithium is not found free in nature and makes up only 0.0007% of the earth's crust. The transmutation of lithium atoms to helium in 1932 was the first fully man-made nuclear reaction, and lithium deuteride serves as a fusion fuel in staged thermonuclear weapons. Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, lithium batteries, and lithium-ion batteries. These uses consume more than three-quarters of lithium production. Lithium is present in biological systems in trace amounts; its functions are uncertain. Lithium salts have proven to be useful as a mood stabilizer and antidepressant in the treatment of mental illness such as bipolar disorder. The alkali metals are also called the lithium family, after its leading element. Like the other alkali metals (which are sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs), and francium (Fr)), lithium has a single valence electron that is easily given up to form a cation. Because of this, lithium is a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as a highly reactive element, though it is the least reactive of the alkali metals. Lithium's low reactivity is due to the proximity of its valence electron to its nucleus (the remaining two electrons are in the 1s orbital, much lower in energy, and do not participate in chemical bonds). Molten lithium is significantly more reactive than its solid form. Lithium metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife. When cut, it possesses a silvery-white color that quickly changes to gray as it oxidizes to lithium oxide. Its melting point of 180.50 °C (453.65 K; 356.90 °F) and its boiling point of 1,342 °C (1,615 K; 2,448 °F) are each the highest of all the alkali metals while its density of 0.534 g/cm3 is the lowest. Lithium has a very low density (0.534 g/cm3), comparable with pine wood. It is the least dense of all elements that are solids at room temperature; the next lightest solid element (potassium, at 0.862 g/cm3) is more than 60% denser. Apart from helium and hydrogen, as a solid it is less dense than any other element as a liquid, being only two-thirds as dense as liquid nitrogen (0.808 g/cm3). Lithium can float on the lightest hydrocarbon oils and is one of only three metals that can float on water, the other two being sodium and potassium.Lithium. Lithium floating in oil. Lithium's coefficient of thermal expansion is twice that of aluminium and almost four times that of iron. Lithium is superconductive below 400 μK at standard pressure and at higher temperatures (more than 9 K) at very high pressures (>20 GPa). At temperatures below 70 K, lithium, like sodium, undergoes diffusionless phase change transformations. At 4.2 K it has a rhombohedral crystal system (with a nine-layer repeat spacing); at higher temperatures it transforms to face-centered cubic and then body-centered cubic. At liquid-helium temperatures (4 K) the rhombohedral structure is prevalent. Multiple allotropic forms have been identified for lithium at high pressures. Lithium has a mass specific heat capacity of 3.58 kilojoules per kilogram-kelvin, the highest of all solids. Because of this, lithium metal is often used in coolants for heat transfer applications.

It does not occur freely in nature; combined, it is found in small units in nearly all igneous rocks and in many mineral springs. Lepidolite, spodumene, petalite, and amblygonite are the more important minerals containing it. Lithium is presently being recovered from brines of Searles Lake, in California, and from those in Nevada. Large deposits of quadramene are found in North Carolina. The metal is produced electrolytically from the fused chloride. Lithium is silvery in appearance, much like Na, K, and other members of the alkali metal series. It reacts with water, but not as vigorously as sodium. Lithium imparts a beautiful crimson color to a flame, but when the metal burns strongly, the flame is a dazzling white. Because molecules, atoms, and ions of the stable isotopes of lithium possess slightly different physical and chemical properties, they commonly will be fractionated during physical, chemical, and biological processes, giving rise to variations in isotopic abundances and in atomic weights. Natural terrestrial materials show a substantial variation in lithium isotopic abundance (Fig. IUPAC.3.1), and these natural isotopic abundances have been used to determine sources of dissolved lithium and to investigate environmental processes Variations in isotope-amount ratio sn(7Li)/n(6Li) can help determine the source of some water. Because the relative abundances of lithium isotopes can change during hydrothermal processes, isotopic analysis of lithium in water can help distinguish water derived from marine sedimentary rocks from water derived from hydrothermally altered igneous rocks.7Li, as hydroxide monohydrate (7LiOH•H2O), is used to maintain the pH level of the coolant used in pressurized water reactors in the nuclear power industry [39], [40]. Lithium plays a role in the construction of a thermonuclear bomb, which differs from a fission weapon in that it uses the energy released when two light atomic nuclei (i.e. deuterium (2H) and tritium (3H)) fuse to form helium and a high energy neutron via this DT reaction. 6Li is used, in the form of 6Li deuteride (6Li 2H), as fusion fuel capable of producing tritium when bombarded with neutrons within the weapon via the reaction 6Li (n, 3H) 4He [41]. Li-based laboratory reagents have found their way into surface water and can be easily identified. Although a military secret in the 1950s, it is now known that substantial amounts of 6Li (normally having an isotopic abundance of 0.076) were removed from chemical reagents to be used in nuclear weapon development. Reagents containing the remaining lithium depleted in 6Li (having an isotopic abundance as low as 0.025) were sold to both chemical manufacturers and to laboratory chemists for their use. The distinctive isotopic signature of depleted 6Li, having a n(7Li)/n(6Li) ratio of 39, compared to a ratio of 12 in naturally occurring terrestrial materials, enables easier detection of this lithium source in polluted waterways and the environment .7Li is a decay product of the 10B (neutron, alpha) 7Li reaction, which has a peak value for room temperature neutrons. Brain tumor cells are typically found some 5 to 7 cm below the surface of the skull. After 10B has been introduced to or entered the tumor cells, a beam of neutrons of energy slightly above room temperature is introduced to the affected areas. The energy of these neutrons is reduced to room temperature by the time they react with the 10B, which then disintegrates into high energy charged particles (7Li and 4He), which deposit their kinetic energy in nearby (predominately cancerous) cells and destroys them. Any adjacent normal cells are unaffected .Lithium carbonate pills control swings and is soft enough to cut with hand sheers, which leave marks such as you see on this sample of the pure metal. Lithium is a medication used to treat certain mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder. For some people, lithium can help decrease abnormal activity in the brain, manic episodes and suicidal feelings. Short-term side effects can include shaking, fatigue, headache and gastrointestinal problems, while a long-term side effect can be weight gain. If you take lithium your doctor will monitor your kidney function, thyroid function and how much lithium is in your blood. Lithium is just one treatment option, usually prescribed initially by a psychiatrist. Your doctor will decide if it’s right for you. You may have some short-term side effects when starting treatment with lithium or changing dose. It's important to weigh up these short-term side effects with the benefit lithium may have for the symptoms of the mental illness.

Short-term sides effects can include:

shaking,metallic taste,feeling very tired,acne,fatigue,diarrhea,thirst,frequent urination,nausea,vomiting and headache.

These side effects usually go away after a few days. If side effects continue or are worrying you, see your doctor. If they suddenly get worse, it may be a sign of 'lithium toxicity', or too much lithium in your body (see below). If this happens, call your doctor immediately. Taking lithium for long periods can affect your kidneys and your thyroid. Lithium can also cause drowsiness. You can develop lithium toxicity suddenly if you take too many tablets at once or combine lithium with certain other medicines. If you are on a steady dose of lithium, you may get chronic lithium toxicity when your kidneys stop working properly. Lithium toxicity can cause: nausea,vomiting,diarrhoea,confusion,trouble walking,blurred vision,muscle weakness,drowsiness,flu-like symptoms,psychosis,seizures and coma.

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