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Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Lithium Facts

By , About.com Guide   November 16, 2009

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Diagram of a lithium atom. (ARTE)I've noticed a lot of readers have been looking for quick facts about various elements. Here are some facts about lithium. You can get more detailed information from the Periodic Table entry for lithium. If you have additional facts to share, you're welcome to post a response.
  • Lithium is the third element in the periodic table, with 3 protons and the element symbol Li.

  • Lithium is an alkali metal.

  • Lithium metal burns white, though it imparts a crimson color to a flame.

  • Lithium does not occur free in nature, though it is found in nearly all igneous rocks and in mineral springs.

  • Pure lithium metal is extremely corrosive and requires special handling.

  • Lithium is the lightest metal, with a density about half that of water. In other words, if lithium did not react with water (which it does, somewhat vigorously), it would float.

  • Among other uses, lithium is used in medicine, as a heat transfer agent, for making alloys, and for batteries.

  • The transmutation of lithium to tritium was the first man-made nuclear fusion reaction.

Comments

February 16, 2010 at 1:51 pm
(1) joshua perea says:

this stuff great information helps a lot

April 19, 2010 at 2:31 pm
(2) johnny says:

too little info need more but kinda helpful

September 24, 2010 at 12:29 pm
(3) Pip says:

hallo danke.

November 17, 2010 at 10:25 pm
(4) violet says:

this information helped alot

December 8, 2010 at 4:44 pm
(5) smith says:

I used it for a project!!!!!

December 20, 2010 at 5:41 pm
(6) Morgan says:

wow thank you soooo much im doing a project on lithium and i need all the facts i can get thanks :)

January 10, 2011 at 7:28 pm
(7) L.R, says:

So Helpful. I have to do a project on it so… thanks you

January 23, 2011 at 11:45 am
(8) tony says:

im doing a high school project an the info provided is going to be very useful. thanks

January 24, 2011 at 11:40 am
(9) mystery dude says:

yoyoyoyo wuzzup this really helps! thx- mystery dude

January 24, 2011 at 11:42 am
(10) nick rider says:

wuzzup homies! this really helps no kiddin! peace and stay chill

January 24, 2011 at 11:44 am
(11) john barnes says:

homie in the house! haha this really is awesome keep on doin it

February 25, 2011 at 12:12 pm
(12) Joey says:

Good info.

March 1, 2011 at 6:38 pm
(13) brian says:

thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much I needed this info for a project sooooooo badly thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May 6, 2011 at 9:39 am
(14) Kayla says:

Thank you this really helped for my project!!!!!:)

September 15, 2011 at 3:23 pm
(15) rohan says:

this website is so cool it helped me complete my homework with ease!

September 24, 2011 at 11:28 am
(16) Grace says:

thank you so much! its really amazing when ppl like you leave information for younger audiences to use! thank you for helping me get a 105 on my project!

September 30, 2011 at 2:20 pm
(17) Amy Lee says:

OMG THANK YOU! This helped me alot, I’m doing a project for school.

October 6, 2011 at 5:29 pm
(18) jacob says:

thanks used this for my chemistry class

October 12, 2011 at 10:50 am
(19) 2 says:

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2

October 14, 2011 at 2:47 pm
(20) awsome person amzin dude says:

this helped my life

October 27, 2011 at 5:12 pm
(21) nick says:

this is great but i need to know how much lithium $100 could buy

October 28, 2011 at 8:42 am
(22) dominique says:

aye , these is great information. Im doing a project in school , && this helped alot. Could have been a little bit more information , but it was still helpful !!!

October 28, 2011 at 10:09 am
(23) da burg says:

thank you very much now imma go skate

November 22, 2011 at 3:43 pm
(24) Annabelle says:

this is a good source, but you need more info. you helped me get a 100 on a project. thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

December 14, 2011 at 8:37 am
(25) HELLO says:

this did not help! >:(

December 14, 2011 at 10:04 am
(26) Jamee says:

Thanks just used it in scince class :)

December 21, 2011 at 1:01 pm
(27) Jeffrey says:

thx for the facts! so helpful

December 21, 2011 at 1:11 pm
(28) Jeffrey says:

thx im doin a project at school on lithium so thx a lot

January 9, 2012 at 8:52 am
(29) Deja says:

Thanks alot for the information….could use more though!

January 10, 2012 at 10:21 am
(30) jack says:

Thanks needed 20 facts but what you had was great

January 16, 2012 at 6:25 am
(31) neetu varghese says:

thanks a lot this helped me too much
nice facts

January 18, 2012 at 10:58 am
(32) autumn says:

is a really good helpful website

January 23, 2012 at 4:57 pm
(33) Yuuki says:

Thank you so much! I’m sure this will help me tons on my project! ♥

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