![]() When used as a drug, blood concentrations of Li + must be carefully monitored. ![]() ![]() Humans aside, lithium appears to be an essential trace element for goats, and possibly rats. In humans lithium compounds apparently play no natural biological role, and are considered to be slightly toxic. Lithium should be stored in a non-reactive compound such as naphtha or a hydrocarbon. The metal itself is usually less a handling hazard than the caustic hydroxide produced when it is in contact with moisture. Lithium metal is a corrosive and requires special handling to avoid skin contact. Lithium fires are difficult to extinguish, requiring special chemicals designed to smother them. The lithium-water reaction at normal temperatures is brisk but not violent. Lithium metal is flammable and potentially explosive when exposed to air and especially water, though it is far less dangerous than other alkali metals in this regard. K), and a great temperature range in its liquid form, which makes it a useful chemical.Lithium has a high specific heat capacity, 3582 J/(kg It is the only metal that reacts with nitrogen at room temperature. Lithium will ignite and burn when exposed to water and water vapors in oxygen. When placed over a flame, lithium gives off a striking crimson colour, but when it burns strongly, the flame becomes a brilliant white. The metal floats highly in hydrocarbons due to its low density, and jars of lithium in the laboratory are typically composed of black-coated sticks held down in hydrocarbon mechanically by the lid of the jar and other sticks. Lithium has only about half the specific gravity of water, giving solid metal lithium sticks the odd heft of a very light wood, such as balsa. The fresh metal is silver in colour, rapidly tarnishing black in air. Lithium is soft enough to be cut with a knife, though this is significantly more difficult to do than cutting sodium. Nevertheless, it is less reactive than the chemically similar sodium. Because of this, lithium reacts easily with water and does not occur as the free element on Earth. Like all alkali metals, it has a single valence electron, and will readily lose this electron to become a positive ion. ![]() Though in group 1, lithium also exhibits properties of the alkaline-Earth metals in group 2. Lithium compounds are used pharmacologically as a class of mood stabilizing drugs, a neurological effect of the lithium ion Li +. ![]() Lithium metal is used primarily in heat-transfer applications, batteries (mainly cell phone and camera batteries), household appliances such as toasters and microwaves, and in high performance alloys such as those used for aircraft construction. It tarnishes and oxidizes very rapidly in air and water. It therefore has to be stored under the cover of oil to stop this oxidation reaction from occurring. Lithium reacts with oxygen from the air to form black lithium oxide (Li 2O). Lithium in its pure form does not occur naturally on Earth. It is in group 1 of the periodic table, among the alkali metals and is the lightest solid element. Lithium is one of only four elements theorized to have been created in the first three minutes of the universe through a process called Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Lithium ( IPA: /ˈlɪθiəm/, from Greek: lithos: stone, because it was discovered in petalite) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. ![]()
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