Lithium

Lithium (from Greek: λίθος lithos, "stone") is a chemical element with symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silver-white metal belonging to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable. For this reason, it is typically stored in mineral oil. 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. Because of its high reactivity, lithium never occurs freely in nature, and instead, only appears in compounds, which are usually ionic. 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. On a commercial scale, lithium is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.

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. 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.[1]  For related reasons, lithium has important links to nuclear physics. 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.[2]

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. These uses consume more than half of lithium production.

Trace amounts of lithium are present in all organisms. The element serves no apparent vital biological function, since animals and plants survive in good health without it. Non-vital functions have not been ruled out. 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.

Contents
[hide]  *1 Properties ==Properties[ edit] == Main article: Alkali metal===Atomic and physical[ edit] === Lithium pellets covered in white lithium hydroxide (left) and ingots with a thin layer of black nitride tarnish (right)Like the other alkali metals, lithium has a single valence electron that is easily given up to form a cation.[3]  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. 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).[3]
 * 1.1 Atomic and physical
 * 1.2 Chemistry and compounds
 * 1.3 Isotopes
 * 2 Occurrence
 * 2.1 Astronomical
 * 2.2 Terrestrial
 * 2.3 Biological
 * 3 History
 * 4 Production
 * 5 Uses
 * 5.1 Ceramics and glass
 * 5.2 Electrical and electronics
 * 5.3 Lubricating greases
 * 5.4 Metallurgy
 * 5.5 Other chemical and industrial uses
 * 5.6 Nuclear
 * 5.7 Medicine
 * 6 Precautions
 * 6.1 Regulation
 * 7 See also
 * 8 Notes
 * 9 References
 * 10 External links

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife. When cut, it possesses a silvery-white color that quickly changes to gray due to oxidation.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-krebs_3-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  While it has one of the lowest melting points among all metals (180 °C), it has the highest melting and boiling points of the alkali metals.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium has a very low density of 0.534 g/cm<sup style="line-height:1;">3, comparable with that of 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/cm<sup style="line-height:1;">3 ) being more than 60% denser. Furthermore, apart from helium and hydrogen, it is less dense than any liquid element, being only 2/3 as dense as liquid nitrogen (0.808 g/cm<sup style="line-height:1;">3 ).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[note 1] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5]  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 floating in oil<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium's coefficient of thermal expansion is twice that of aluminium and almost four times that of iron.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[6]  It has the highest specific heat capacity of any solid element. Lithium is superconductive below 400 μK at standard pressure<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[7]  and at higher temperatures (more than 9 K) at very high pressures (>20 GPa)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[8]  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 the most prevalent.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-overhauser_10-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[9]  Multiple allotropic forms have been reported for lithium at high pressures.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[10]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium has a specific heat capacity of 3.58 kilojoules per kilogram-Kelvin, the highest of all solids.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CRC_12-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[12]  Because of this, lithium metal is often used in coolants for heat transfer applications.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CRC_12-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11] ===Chemistry and compounds<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium reacts with water easily, but with noticeably less energy than other alkali metals do. The reaction forms hydrogengas and lithium hydroxide in aqueous solution.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-krebs_3-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  Because of its reactivity with water, lithium is usually stored under cover of a hydrocarbon, often petroleum jelly. Though the heavier alkali metals can be stored in more dense substances, such as mineral oil, lithium is not dense enough to be fully submerged in these liquids.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-emsley_14-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13]  In moist air, lithium rapidly tarnishes to form a black coating of lithium hydroxide (LiOH and LiOH·H<sub style="line-height:1;">2 O), lithium nitride (Li<sub style="line-height:1;">3 N) and lithium carbonate (Li<sub style="line-height:1;">2 CO<sub style="line-height:1;">3, the result of a secondary reaction between LiOH and CO<sub style="line-height:1;">2).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kamienski_15-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[14] Hexameric structure of the n-butyllithium fragment in a crystal<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">When placed over a flame, lithium compounds give off a striking crimson color, but when it burns strongly the flame becomes a brilliant silver. Lithium will ignite and burn in oxygen when exposed to water or water vapors.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[15]  Lithium is flammable, and it is potentially explosive when exposed to air and especially to water, though less so than the other alkali metals. The lithium-water reaction at normal temperatures is brisk but nonviolent, as the hydrogen produced will not ignite on its own. As with all alkali metals, lithium fires are difficult to extinguish, requiring dry powder fire extinguishers (Class D type). Lithium is the only metal which reacts with nitrogen under normal conditions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[16] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[17]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium has a diagonal relationship with magnesium, an element of similar atomic and ionic radius. Chemical resemblances between the two metals include the formation of a nitride by reaction with N<sub style="line-height:1;">2, the formation of an oxide ( Li<span style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:-0.3em;vertical-align:-0.4em;line-height:1.2em;font-size:12px;"> 2 O ) and peroxide ( Li<span style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:-0.3em;vertical-align:-0.4em;line-height:1.2em;font-size:12px;"> 2 O<span style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:-0.3em;vertical-align:-0.4em;line-height:1.2em;font-size:12px;"> 2 ) when burnt in O<sub style="line-height:1;">2 , salts with similar solubilities, and thermal instability of the carbonates and nitrides.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kamienski_15-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[14] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Greenwood_19-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[18]  The metal reacts with hydrogen gas at high temperatures to produce lithium hydride (LiH).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[19]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Other known binary compounds include the halides (LiF, LiCl, LiBr, LiI), and the sulfide (Li<span style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:-0.3em;vertical-align:-0.4em;line-height:1.2em;font-size:12px;"> 2 S), the superoxide (LiO<span style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:-0.3em;vertical-align:-0.4em;line-height:1.2em;font-size:12px;"> 2), carbide ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_carbide Li<span style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:-0.3em;vertical-align:-0.4em;line-height:1.2em;font-size:12px;"> 2 C<span style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:-0.3em;vertical-align:-0.4em;line-height:1.2em;font-size:12px;"> 2 ]). Many other inorganic compounds are known, where lithium combines with anions to form various salts: borates, amides, carbonate, nitrate, or borohydride ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_borohydride LiBH<span style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:-0.3em;vertical-align:-0.4em;line-height:1.2em;font-size:12px;"> 4 ]). Multiple organolithium reagents are known where there is a direct bond between carbon and lithium atoms effectively creating a carbanion. These are extremely powerful bases and nucleophiles. In many of these organolithium compounds, the lithium ions tend to aggregate into high-symmetry clusters by themselves, which is relatively common for alkali cations.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[20]  LiHe, a very weakly interacting van der Waals compound, has been detected at very low temperatures.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[21]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium has also been found to exhibit ferromagnetism in its gaseous form, under certain conditions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[22] ===Isotopes<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Main article: Isotopes of lithium<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Naturally occurring lithium is composed of two stable isotopes, <sup style="line-height:1;">6 Li and <sup style="line-height:1;">7 Li, the latter being the more abundant (92.5% natural abundance).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-krebs_3-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-emsley_14-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-isotopesproject_24-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[23]  Both natural isotopes have anomalously low nuclear binding energy per nucleon compared to the next lighter and heavier elements, helium and beryllium, which means that alone among stable light elements, lithium can produce net energy through nuclear fission. The two lithium nuclei have lower binding energies per nucleon than any other stable nuclides other than deuterium and helium-3.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bind_25-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[24]  As a result of this, though very light in atomic weight, lithium is less common in the Solar System than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Lodders2003_1-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[1]  Seven radioisotopes have been characterized, the most stable being <sup style="line-height:1;">8 Li with a half-life of 838 ms and <sup style="line-height:1;">9 Li with a half-life of 178 ms. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are shorter than 8.6 ms. The shortest-lived isotope of lithium is <sup style="line-height:1;">4 Li, which decays through proton emission and has a half-life of 7.6 × 10<sup style="line-height:1;">−23  s.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-nuclidetable_26-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[25]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;"><sup style="line-height:1;">7 Li is one of the primordial elements (or, more properly, primordial nuclides) produced in Big Bang nucleosynthesis. A small amount of both <sup style="line-height:1;">6 Li and <sup style="line-height:1;">7 Li are produced in stars, but are thought to be burned as fast as produced.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[26]  Additional small amounts of lithium of both <sup style="line-height:1;">6 Li and <sup style="line-height:1;">7 Li may be generated from solar wind, cosmic rays hitting heavier atoms, and from early solar system <sup style="line-height:1;">7 Be and <sup style="line-height:1;">10 Be radioactive decay.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[27]  While lithium is created in stars during the Stellar nucleosynthesis, it is further burnt. <sup style="line-height:1;">7 Li can also be generated in carbon stars.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[28]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium isotopes fractionate substantially during a wide variety of natural processes,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[29]  including mineral formation (chemical precipitation), metabolism, and ion exchange. Lithium ions substitute for magnesium and iron in octahedral sites in clay minerals, where <sup style="line-height:1;">6 Li is preferred to <sup style="line-height:1;">7 Li, resulting in enrichment of the light isotope in processes of hyperfiltration and rock alteration. The exotic <sup style="line-height:1;">11 Li is known to exhibit a nuclear halo. The process known as laser isotope separation can be used to separate lithium isotopes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[30]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Nuclear weapons manufacture and other nuclear physics uses are a major source of artificial lithium fractionation, with the light isotope <sup style="line-height:1;">6 Li being retained by industry and military stockpiles to such an extent as to slightly but measurably change the <sup style="line-height:1;">6 Li to <sup style="line-height:1;">7 Li ratios even in natural sources, such as rivers. This has led to unusual uncertainty in the standardized atomic weight of lithium, since this quantity depends on the natural abundance ratios of these naturally-occurring stable lithium isotopes, as they are available in commercial lithium mineral sources.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Coplen2002_32-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[31] ==Occurrence<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Lithium is about as common as chlorine in the Earth's upper continental crust, on a per-atom basis.===Astronomical<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Main article: Nucleosynthesis<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">According to modern cosmological theory, lithium—as both of its stable isotopes lithium-6 and lithium-7—was among the 3 elements synthesized in the Big Bang.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[32]  Though the amount of lithium generated in Big Bang nucleosynthesis is dependent upon the number of photons per baryon, for accepted values the lithium abundance can be calculated, and there is a "cosmological lithium discrepancy" in the Universe: older stars seem to have less lithium than they should, and some younger stars have far more. The lack of lithium in older stars is apparently caused by the "mixing" of lithium into the interior of stars, where it is destroyed.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-cld_34-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[33]  Furthermore, lithium is produced in younger stars. Though it transmutes into two atoms of helium due to collision with a proton at temperatures above 2.4 million degrees Celsius (most stars easily attain this temperature in their interiors), lithium is more abundant than predicted in later-generation stars, for causes not yet completely understood.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-emsley_14-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Though it was one of the three first elements (together with helium and hydrogen) to be synthesized in the Big Bang, lithium, together with beryllium and boron are markedly less abundant than other nearby elements. This is a result of the low temperature necessary to destroy lithium, and a lack of common processes to produce it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-wesleyan_35-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[34]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium is also found in brown dwarf substellar objects and certain anomalous orange stars. Because lithium is present in cooler, less-massive brown dwarfs, but is destroyed in hotter red dwarf stars, its presence in the stars' spectra can be used in the "lithium test" to differentiate the two, as both are smaller than the Sun.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-emsley_14-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[35] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[36]  Certain orange stars can also contain a high concentration of lithium. Those orange stars found to have a higher than usual concentration of lithium (such as Centaurus X-4) orbit massive objects—neutron stars or black holes—whose gravity evidently pulls heavier lithium to the surface of a hydrogen-helium star, causing more lithium to be observed.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-emsley_14-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13] ===Terrestrial<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === See also: Lithium minerals<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Although lithium is widely distributed on Earth, it does not naturally occur in elemental form due to its high reactivity.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-krebs_3-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  The total lithium content of seawater is very large and is estimated as 230 billion tonnes, where the element exists at a relatively constant concentration of 0.14 to 0.25 parts per million (ppm),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[38] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-enc_41-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[39]  or 25 micromolar;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[40]  higher concentrations approaching 7 ppm are found near hydrothermal vents.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-enc_41-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[39]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Estimates for the Earth's crustal content range from 20 to 70 ppm by weight.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kamienski_15-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[14]  In keeping with its name, lithium forms a minor part of igneous rocks, with the largest concentrations in granites. Granitic pegmatites also provide the greatest abundance of lithium-containing minerals, with spodumene and petalite being the most commercially viable sources.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kamienski_15-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[14]  Another significant mineral of lithium is lepidolite.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-43" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[41]  A newer source for lithium is hectorite clay, the only active development of which is through the Western Lithium Corporation in the United States.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[42]  At 20 mg lithium per kg of Earth's crust,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[43]  lithium is the 25th most abundant element.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">According to the Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium, "Lithium is a comparatively rare element, although it is found in many rocks and some brines, but always in very low concentrations. There are a fairly large number of both lithium mineral and brine deposits but only comparatively few of them are of actual or potential commercial value. Many are very small, others are too low in grade."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[44]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">One of the largest reserve bases<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-res_39-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[note 2]  of lithium is in the Salar de Uyuni area of Bolivia, which has 5.4 million tonnes. The US Geological Survey estimates that in 2010 Chile had the largest reserves by far (7.5 million tonnes)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-47" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[45]  and the highest annual production (8,800 tonnes). Other major suppliers include Australia, Argentina and China.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-minerals.usgs.gov_38-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[37] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-meridian_48-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[46]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In June 2010, the New York Times reported that American geologists were conducting ground surveys on dry salt lakes in western Afghanistan believing that large deposits of lithium are located there. "Pentagon officials said that their initial analysis at one location in Ghazni Province showed the potential for lithium deposits as large as those of Bolivia, which now has the world's largest known lithium reserves."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[47]  These estimates are "based principally on old data, which was gathered mainly by the Soviets during their occupation of Afghanistan from 1979–1989" and "Stephen Peters, the head of the USGS's Afghanistan Minerals Project, said that he was unaware of USGS involvement in any new surveying for minerals in Afghanistan in the past two years. 'We are not aware of any discoveries of lithium,' he said."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-50" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[48] ===Biological<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium is found in trace amount in numerous plants, plankton, and invertebrates, at concentrations of 69 to 5,760 parts per billion (ppb). In vertebrates the concentration is slightly lower, and nearly all vertebrate tissue and body fluids have been found to contain lithium ranging from 21 to 763 ppb.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-enc_41-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[39]  Marine organisms tend to bioaccumulate lithium more than terrestrial ones.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[49]  It is not known whether lithium has a physiological role in any of these organisms,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-enc_41-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[39]  but nutritional studies in mammals have indicated its importance to health, leading to a suggestion that it be classed as an essential trace element with an RDA of 1 mg/day.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[50]  Observational studies in Japan, reported in 2011, suggested that naturally occurring lithium in drinking water may increase human lifespan.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-53" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[51] ==History<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Johan August Arfwedson is credited with the discovery of lithium in 1817<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Petalite (LiAlSi<sub style="line-height:1;">4 O<sub style="line-height:1;">10 ) was discovered in 1800 by the Brazilian chemist and statesman José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva in a mine on the island of Utö, Sweden.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mindat_54-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[52] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-webelementshistory_55-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[53] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-discovery_56-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[54]  However, it was not until 1817 that Johan August Arfwedson, then working in the laboratory of the chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, detected the presence of a new element while analyzing petalite ore.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-berzelius_57-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[55] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-uwis_58-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[56] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-vanderkrogt_59-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[57]  This element formed compounds similar to those of sodium and potassium, though its carbonate and hydroxide were less soluble in water and more alkaline.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-compounds_60-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[58]  Berzelius gave the alkaline material the name "lithion/lithina", from the Greek word λιθoς (transliterated as lithos, meaning "stone"), to reflect its discovery in a solid mineral, as opposed to potassium, which had been discovered in plant ashes, and sodium which was known partly for its high abundance in animal blood. He named the metal inside the material "lithium".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-krebs_3-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-webelementshistory_55-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[53] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-vanderkrogt_59-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[57]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Arfwedson later showed that this same element was present in the minerals spodumene and lepidolite.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-webelementshistory_55-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[53]  In 1818, Christian Gmelin was the first to observe that lithium salts give a bright red color to flame.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-webelementshistory_55-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[53]  However, both Arfwedson and Gmelin tried and failed to isolate the pure element from its salts.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-webelementshistory_55-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[53] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-vanderkrogt_59-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[57] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-eote_61-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[59] It was not isolated until 1821, when William Thomas Brande obtained it by electrolysis of lithium oxide, a process that had previously been employed by the chemist Sir Humphry Davy to isolate the alkali metals potassium and sodium.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-emsley_14-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-eote_61-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[59] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-62" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[60] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[61]  Brande also described some pure salts of lithium, such as the chloride, and, estimating that lithia (lithium oxide) contained about 55% metal, estimated the atomic weight of lithium to be around 9.8 g/mol (modern value ~6.94 g/mol).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[62]  In 1855, larger quantities of lithium were produced through the electrolysis of lithium chloride by Robert Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-webelementshistory_55-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[53]  The discovery of this procedure henceforth led to commercial production of lithium, beginning in 1923, by the German company Metallgesellschaft AG, which performed an electrolysis of a liquid mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-webelementshistory_55-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[53] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[63] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[64]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The production and use of lithium underwent several drastic changes in history. The first major application of lithium was in high-temperature lithium greases for aircraft engines or similar applications in World War II and shortly after. This use was supported by the fact that lithium-based soaps have a higher melting point than other alkali soaps, and are less corrosive than calcium based soaps. The small market for lithium soaps and the lubricating greases based upon them was supported by several small mining operations mostly in the United States.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The demand for lithium increased dramatically during the Cold War with the production of nuclear fusion weapons. Both lithium-6 and lithium-7 produce tritium when irradiated by neutrons, and are thus useful for the production of tritium by itself, as well as a form of solid fusion fuel used inside hydrogen bombs in the form of lithium deuteride. The United States became the prime producer of lithium in the period between the late 1950s and the mid-1980s. At the end, the stockpile of lithium was roughly 42,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide. The stockpiled lithium was depleted in lithium-6 by 75%, which was enough to affect the measured atomic weight of lithium in many standardized chemicals, and even the atomic weight of lithium in some "natural sources" of lithium ion which had been "contaminated" by lithium salts discharged from isotope separation facilities, which had found its way into ground water.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Coplen2002_32-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[31] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-USGSCR1994_67-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[65]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium was used to decrease the melting temperature of glass and to improve the melting behavior of aluminium oxide when using the Hall-Héroult process.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ciuz2003_68-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[66] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ciuz2003_68-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[66]  These two uses dominated the market until the middle of the 1990s. After the end of the nuclear arms race the demand for lithium decreased and the sale of Department of Energy stockpiles on the open market further reduced prices.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-USGSCR1994_67-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[65]  But in the mid-1990s, several companies started to extract lithium from brine which proved to be a less expensive method than underground or even open-pit mining. Most of the mines closed or shifted their focus to other materials as only the ore from zoned pegmatites could be mined for a competitive price. For example, the US mines near Kings Mountain, North Carolinaclosed before the turn of the 21st century.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The use in lithium ion batteries increased the demand for lithium and became the dominant use in 2007.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-USGSYB1994_69-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[67]  With the surge of lithium demand in batteries in the 2000s, new companies have expanded brine extraction efforts to meet the rising demand.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-IMR_70-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[68] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-71" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[69] ==Production<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Satellite images of the Salar del Hombre Muerto, Argentina (left), and Uyuni, Bolivia (right), salt flatsare rich in lithium. The lithium-rich brine is concentrated by pumping it into solar evaporation ponds (visible in the left image).World production trend of Lithium<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Since the end of World War II lithium production has greatly increased. The metal is separated from other elements in igneous minerals such as those above. Lithium salts are extracted from the water of mineral springs, brine pools and brine deposits. The metal is produced electrolyticallyfrom a mixture of fused 55% lithium chloride and 45% potassium chloride at about 450<sup style="line-height:1;">o  C.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-72" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[70]  In 1998 it was about  95 US$ / kg  (or 43 US$/pound).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ober_73-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[71]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Worldwide identified reserves of lithium in 2008 were estimated by the US Geological Survey as 13 million tonnes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-minerals.usgs.gov_38-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[37]  Deposits of lithium are found in South America throughout the Andes mountain chain. Chile is the leading lithium producer, followed by Argentina. Both countries recover the lithium from brine pools. In the United States lithium is recovered from brine pools in Nevada.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CRC_12-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]  However, half the world's known reserves are located in Bolivia, a nation sitting along the central eastern slope of the Andes. In 2009 Bolivia was negotiating with Japanese, French, and Korean firms to begin extraction.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-romero_74-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[72]  According to the US Geological Survey, Bolivia's Uyuni Desert has 5.4 million tonnes of lithium.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-romero_74-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[72] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-75" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[73]  A newly discovered deposit in Wyoming's Rock Springs Uplift is estimated at 228,000 tons. Additional deposits in the same formation were extrapolated to be as much as 18 million tons.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-76" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[74]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">After an industry wide pricing reduction for lithium carbonate after the Great Financial Crisis, where major suppliers such as Sociedad Química y Minera(SQM) dropped pricing by 20%<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-77" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[75]  in light of incoming lithium resource developers and to further defend their market position, pricing in 2012 scaled up due to increased lithium demand. A 2012 Business Week article outlined the existing oligopoly in the lithium space, "SQM, controlled by billionaire Julio Ponce, is the second-largest, followed by Rockwood, which is backed by Henry Kravis’s KKR & Co., and Philadelphia-based FMC." Global consumption may jump to 300,000 metric tons a year by 2020 from about 150,000 tons in 2012, as demand for lithium batteries has been growing at about 25 percent a year, outpacing the 4 percent to 5 percent overall gain in lithium<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-78" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[76]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">A potential source is geothermal wells. Geothermal fluids carry leachates to the surface;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bourcier_79-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[77]  recovery of lithium has been demonstrated in the field.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Simbol_80-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[78]  As the lithium is separated by simple filtration techniques, the process and environmental costs are primarily that of the already-operating geothermal well; relative environmental impacts may thus be positive.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-NYT_81-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[79]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">There are differing opinions about the potential growth of lithium production. A 2008 study concluded that "realistically achievable lithium carbonate production will be sufficient for only a small fraction of future PHEV and EV global market requirements", that "demand from the portable electronics sector will absorb much of the planned production increases in the next decade", and that "mass production of lithium carbonate is not environmentally sound, it will cause irreparable ecological damage to ecosystems that should be protected and that LiIon propulsion is incompatible with the notion of the 'Green Car'".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-meridian_48-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[46]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">However, according to a 2011 study conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California Berkeley, the currently estimated reserve base of lithium should not be a limiting factor for large-scale battery production for electric vehicles, as the study estimated that on the order of 1 billion 40 kWh Li-based batteries could be built with current reserves.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-82" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[80]  Another 2011 study by researchers from the University of Michigan and Ford Motor Company found that there are sufficient lithium resources to support global demand until 2100, including the lithium required for the potential widespread use of hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles. The study estimated global lithium reserves at 39 million tons, and total demand for lithium during the 90-year period analyzed at 12–20 million tons, depending on the scenarios regarding economic growth and recycling rates.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-83" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[81]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">On June 9, 2014, the Financialist publication, produced by the Credit Suisse company, stated that demand for lithium is growing at more than 12 percent a year; according to Credit Suisse, this rate exceeds projected availability by 25 percent. The publication compared the 2014 lithium situation with oil, whereby "higher oil prices spurred investment in expensive deepwater and oil sands production techniques"; that is, the price of lithium will continue to rise until more expensive production methods that can boost total output receive the attention of investors.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-84" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[82] ==Uses<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Estimates of global lithium uses in 2011<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Li-uses-2011_85-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10px;">[83] <span class="legend-color" style="display:inline-block;width:1.5em;height:1.5em;margin-top:1px;margin-bottom:1px;border:1pxsolidblack;color:black;text-align:center;">   Ceramics and glass (29%)<span class="legend-color" style="display:inline-block;width:1.5em;height:1.5em;margin-top:1px;margin-bottom:1px;border:1pxsolidblack;color:black;text-align:center;">   Batteries (27%)<span class="legend-color" style="display:inline-block;width:1.5em;height:1.5em;margin-top:1px;margin-bottom:1px;border:1pxsolidblack;color:black;text-align:center;">   Lubricating greases (12%)<span class="legend-color" style="display:inline-block;width:1.5em;height:1.5em;margin-top:1px;margin-bottom:1px;border:1pxsolidblack;color:black;text-align:center;">   Continuous casting (5%)<span class="legend-color" style="display:inline-block;width:1.5em;height:1.5em;margin-top:1px;margin-bottom:1px;border:1pxsolidblack;color:black;text-align:center;">   Air treatment (4%)<span class="legend-color" style="display:inline-block;width:1.5em;height:1.5em;margin-top:1px;margin-bottom:1px;border:1pxsolidblack;color:black;text-align:center;">   Polymers (3%)<span class="legend-color" style="display:inline-block;width:1.5em;height:1.5em;margin-top:1px;margin-bottom:1px;border:1pxsolidblack;color:black;text-align:center;">   Primary aluminum production (2%)<span class="legend-color" style="display:inline-block;width:1.5em;height:1.5em;margin-top:1px;margin-bottom:1px;border:1pxsolidblack;color:black;text-align:center;">   Pharmaceuticals (2%)<span class="legend-color" style="display:inline-block;width:1.5em;height:1.5em;margin-top:1px;margin-bottom:1px;border:1pxsolidblack;color:black;text-align:center;">   Other (16%)===Ceramics and glass<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium oxide is a widely used flux for processing silica, reducing the melting point and viscosity of the material and leading to glazes of improved physical properties including low coefficients for thermal expansion.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-86" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[84]  Lithium oxides are a component of ovenware. Worldwide, this is the single largest use for lithium compounds.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Li-uses-2011_85-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[83]  Lithium carbonate (Li<sub style="line-height:1;">2 CO<sub style="line-height:1;">3 ) is generally used in this application: upon heating it converts to the oxide.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-87" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[85] ===Electrical and electronics<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the later years of the 20th century, owing to its high electrode potential, lithium became an important component of the electrolyte and of one of the electrodes in batteries. Because of its low atomic mass, it has a high charge- and power-to-weight ratio. A typical lithium-ion battery can generate approximately 3 volts per cell, compared with 2.1 volts for lead-acid or 1.5 volts for zinc-carbon cells. Lithium-ion batteries, which are rechargeable and have a high energy density, should not be confused with lithium batteries, which are disposable (primary) batteries with lithium or its compounds as the anode.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-88" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[86] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-89" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[87]  Other rechargeable batteries that use lithium include the lithium-ion polymer battery, lithium iron phosphate battery, and the nanowire battery. ===Lubricating greases<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The third most common use of lithium is in greases. Lithium hydroxide is a strong base and, when heated with a fat, produces a soap made of lithium stearate. Lithium soap has the ability to thicken oils, and it is used to manufacture all-purpose, high-temperature lubricating greases.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CRC_12-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-90" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[88] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-91" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[89] ===Metallurgy<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">When used as a flux for welding or soldering, metallic lithium promotes the fusing of metals during the process and eliminates the forming of oxides by absorbing impurities. Its fusing quality is also important as a flux for producing ceramics, enamels and glass. Alloys of the metal with aluminium, cadmium, copper and manganese are used to make high-performance aircraft parts (see also Lithium-aluminium alloys).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-92" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[90] ===Other chemical and industrial uses<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Lithium use in flares and pyrotechnics is due to its rose-red flame.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-93" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10px;">[91] ====Pyrotechnics<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==== <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium compounds are used as pyrotechnic colorants and oxidizers in red fireworks and flares.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CRC_12-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-94" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[92] ====Air purification<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==== <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium chloride and lithium bromide are hygroscopic and are used as desiccants for gas streams.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CRC_12-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]  Lithium hydroxide and lithium peroxide are the salts most used in confined areas, such as aboard spacecraft and submarines, for carbon dioxide removal and air purification. Lithium hydroxide absorbs carbon dioxide from the air by forming lithium carbonate, and is preferred over other alkaline hydroxides for its low weight.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium peroxide (Li<sub style="line-height:1;">2 O<sub style="line-height:1;">2 ) in presence of moisture not only reacts with carbon dioxide to form lithium carbonate, but also releases oxygen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-95" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[93] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-96" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[94]  The reaction is as follows:
 * 2 Li<sub style="line-height:1;">2 O<sub style="line-height:1;">2  + 2 CO<sub style="line-height:1;">2  → 2 Li<sub style="line-height:1;">2 CO<sub style="line-height:1;">3  + O<sub style="line-height:1;">2.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Some of the aforementioned compounds, as well as lithium perchlorate, are used in oxygen candles that supply submarines with oxygen. These can also include small amounts of boron, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, titanium, manganese, and iron.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-97" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[95] ====Optics<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==== <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium fluoride, artificially grown as crystal, is clear and transparent and often used in specialist optics for IR, UV and VUV (vacuum UV) applications. It has one of the lowest refractive indexes and the farthest transmission range in the deep UV of most common materials.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-98" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[96]  Finely divided lithium fluoride powder has been used for thermoluminescent radiation dosimetry (TLD): when a sample of such is exposed to radiation, it accumulates crystal defects which, when heated, resolve via a release of bluish light whose intensity is proportional to the absorbed dose, thus allowing this to be quantified.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-99" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[97]  Lithium fluoride is sometimes used in focal lenses of telescopes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CRC_12-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-100" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[98]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The high non-linearity of lithium niobate also makes it useful in non-linear optics applications. It is used extensively in telecommunication products such as mobile phones and optical modulators, for such components as resonant crystals. Lithium applications are used in more than 60% of mobile phones.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-101" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[99] ====Organic and polymer chemistry<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==== <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Organolithium compounds are widely used in the production of polymer and fine-chemicals. In the polymer industry, which is the dominant consumer of these reagents, alkyl lithium compounds are catalysts/initiators.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-102" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[100]  in anionic polymerization of unfunctionalized olefins.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-103" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[101] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-104" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[102] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-105" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[103]  For the production of fine chemicals, organolithium compounds function as strong bases and as reagents for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds. Organolithium compounds are prepared from lithium metal and alkyl halides.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-106" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[104]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Many other lithium compounds are used as reagents to prepare organic compounds. Some popular compounds include lithium aluminium hydride (LiAlH<sub style="line-height:1;">4 ), lithium triethylborohydride (LiBH(C<sub style="line-height:1;">2 H<sub style="line-height:1;">5 )<sub style="line-height:1;">3 ). n-Butyllithium (C<sub style="line-height:1;">4 H<sub style="line-height:1;">9 Li) and tert-butyl lithium (C<sub style="line-height:1;">4 H<sub style="line-height:1;">9 Li) are commonly used as extremely strong bases called superbase. ====Military applications<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==== <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Metallic lithium and its complex hydrides, such as Li[AlH<sub style="line-height:1;">4], are used as high energy additives to rocket propellants.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-emsley_14-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13]  Lithium aluminum hydride can also be used by itself as a solid fuel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-107" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[105] The launch of a torpedo using lithium as fuel<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Mark 50 Torpedo stored chemical energy propulsion system (SCEPS) uses a small tank of sulfur hexafluoride gas which is sprayed over a block of solid lithium. The reaction generates heat which is used to generate steam. The steam propels the torpedo in a closed Rankine cycle.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-108" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[106]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium hydride containing lithium-6 is used in hydrogen bombs. In the bomb, it is placed around the core of an atomic bomb.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-109" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[107] ===Nuclear<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium-6 is valued as a source material for tritium production and as a neutron absorber in nuclear fusion. Natural lithium contains about 7.5% lithium-6 from which large amounts of lithium-6 have been produced by isotope separation for use in nuclear weapons.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-110" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[108]  Lithium-7 gained interest for use in nuclear reactor coolants.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-111" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[109] Lithium deuteride was used as fuel in the Castle Bravo nuclear device.<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium deuteride was the fusion fuel of choice in early versions of the hydrogen bomb. When bombarded by neutrons, both <sup style="line-height:1;">6 Li and <sup style="line-height:1;">7 Li produce tritium — this reaction, which was not fully understood when hydrogen bombs were first tested, was responsible for the runaway yield of the Castle Bravo nuclear test. Tritium fuses with deuterium in a fusion reaction that is relatively easy to achieve. Although details remain secret, lithium-6 deuteride still apparently plays a role in modern nuclear weapons, as a fusion material.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-112" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[110]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium fluoride, when highly enriched in the lithium-7 isotope, forms the basic constituent of the fluoride salt mixture LiF-BeF<sub style="line-height:1;">2 used in liquid fluoride nuclear reactors. Lithium fluoride is exceptionally chemically stable and LiF-BeF<sub style="line-height:1;">2  mixtures have low melting points. In addition, <sup style="line-height:1;">7 Li, Be, and F are among the few nuclides with low enough thermal neutron capture cross-sections not to poison the fission reactions inside a nuclear fission reactor.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-113" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[note 3] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-114" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[111]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In conceptualized nuclear fusion power plants, lithium will be used to produce tritium in magnetically confined reactors using deuterium and tritium as the fuel. Naturally occurring tritium is extremely rare, and must be synthetically produced by surrounding the reacting plasma with a 'blanket' containing lithium where neutrons from the deuterium-tritium reaction in the plasma will fission the lithium to produce more tritium:
 * <sup style="line-height:1;">6 Li + n → <sup style="line-height:1;">4 He + <sup style="line-height:1;">3 T.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium is also used as a source for alpha particles, or helium nuclei. When <sup style="line-height:1;">7 Li is bombarded by accelerated protons <sup style="line-height:1;">8 Be is formed, which undergoes fission to form two alpha particles. This feat, called "splitting the atom" at the time, was the first fully man-made nuclear reaction. It was produced by Cockroft and Walton in 1932.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-115" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[112] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-116" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[113]  (Nuclear reactions and human-directed nuclear transmutation had been accomplished as early as 1917, but by using natural radioactive bombardment with alpha particles).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2013, the US Government Accountability Office said the Lithium-7 critical to the operation of 65 out of 100 American nuclear reactors “places their ability to continue to provide electricity at some risk”. The problem stems from the decay of US nuclear infrastructure. The US shut down most of its machinery in 1963, given a huge surplus, mostly consumed during the twentieth century. The report said it would take five years and $10 million to $12 million.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-nyt1013_117-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[114]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Reactors that use lithium-7 heat water under high pressure and transfer heat through heat exchangers that are prone to corrosion. The reactors use lithium to counteract the corrosive effects of boric acid, which is added to the water to absorb excess neutrons.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-nyt1013_117-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[114] ===Medicine<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Main article: Lithium (medication)<p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium is useful in the treatment of bipolar disorder.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kean_118-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[115]  Lithium salts may also be helpful for related diagnoses, such as schizoaffective disorder and cyclic major depression. The active part of these salts is the lithium ion Li<sup style="line-height:1;">+ .<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-kean_118-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[115]  They may increase the risk of developing Ebstein's cardiac anomaly in infants born to women who take lithium during the first trimester of pregnancy.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-pmid18982835_119-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[116]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium has also been researched as a possible treatment for cluster headaches.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-120" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[117] ==Precautions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lithium is corrosive and requires special handling to avoid skin contact. Breathing lithium dust or lithium compounds (which are often alkaline) initially irritate the nose and throat, while higher exposure can cause a buildup of fluid in the lungs, leading to pulmonary edema. The metal itself is a handling hazard because of the caustic hydroxide produced when it is in contact with moisture. Lithium is safely stored in non-reactive compounds such as naphtha.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-121" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[118] ===Regulation<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Some jurisdictions limit the sale of lithium batteries, which are the most readily available source of lithium for ordinary consumers. Lithium can be used to reduce pseudoephedrine and ephedrine to methamphetamine in the Birch reduction method, which employs solutions of alkali metals dissolved in anhydrous ammonia.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-122" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[119] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-123" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[120]  Carriage and shipment of some kinds of lithium batteries may be prohibited aboard certain types of transportation (particularly aircraft) because of the ability of most types of lithium batteries to fully discharge very rapidly when short-circuited, leading to overheating and possible explosion in a process called thermal runaway. Most consumer lithium batteries have thermal overload protection built-in to prevent this type of incident, or their design inherently limits short-circuit currents. Internal shorts have been known to develop due to manufacturing defects or damage to batteries that can lead to spontaneous thermal runaway.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-124" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[121] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-125" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[122]