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lithium

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Also known as element 3

Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense 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. It exhibits a metallic luster when pure, but quickly corrodes in air to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It does not occur freely in nature, but occurs mainly as pegmatitic minerals, which were once the

OverviewAI-generated

Lithium is an alkali metal in group 1 and period 2 of the s-block. It has the atomic number 3 and the element symbol Li. Johan August Arfwedson discovered the element in Sweden in 1817. Its standard atomic mass is 6.94, though some sources list the weight as 7.0. The electron configuration is 1s² 2s¹, or [He] 2s¹.

The element has a density of 0.534, a melting point of 453.7, and a boiling point of 2426. Its electronegativity is 1, and its standard molar entropy is 29.1. Lithium commonly exhibits an oxidation state of 1. It is part of the lithiophilite mineral group. The Unicode character for lithium is 鋰.

Lithium is used to treat schizoaffective disorder. It is described in the Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia, the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, and the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition. The element is referenced by 2,190 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 34 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, PubChem, PubMed, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Chemical data

Formula
Li
Molecular weight
7 g/mol
IUPAC name
lithium
SMILES
[Li]
InChIKey
WHXSMMKQMYFTQS-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Polar surface area
0 Ų
H-bond donors
0
H-bond acceptors
0
Formal charge
0

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Research

89,339 papers

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Wikidata facts

Subclass of
s-block
Named after
stone
Material used
spodumene
Mass
6.94
Image
Lithium paraffin.jpg
Has use
lithium
Show 26 more facts
oxidation state
1
atomic number
3
element symbol
Li
Commons category
Lithium
discoverer or inventor
Johan August Arfwedson
time of discovery or invention
1817-01-01
topic's main category
Category:Lithium
Commons gallery
Lithium
density
0.534
electronegativity
1
location of discovery
Sweden
boiling point
1317
NCI Thesaurus ID
C95186
medical condition treated
schizoaffective disorder
standard molar entropy
29.1
Unicode character
melting point
357.3
electron configuration
[He] 2s¹
molar fusion enthalpy
3
molar enthalpy of vaporization
136
thermal conductivity
84.8
chemical formula
Li
ionic radius
0.92
on focus list of Wikimedia project
Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
significant drug interaction
acetazolamide
2022 Harmonized System Code
280519
Sources (5)

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~52 min read

Encyclopedic overview

39 sections
Contents
  • Properties
  • Atomic and physical
  • Isotopes
  • Occurrence
  • Astronomical
  • Terrestrial
  • Biological
  • History
  • Chemistry
  • Of lithium metal
  • Inorganic compounds
  • Organic chemistry
  • Production
  • Reserves and occurrence
  • Lithium triangle and other brine sources
  • Hard-rock deposits
  • Other sources
  • Pricing
  • Extraction
  • Environmental issues
  • Human rights issues
  • Applications
  • Batteries
  • Ceramics and glass
  • Lubricating greases
  • Metallurgy
  • Silicon nano-welding
  • Pyrotechnics
  • Air purification
  • Optics
  • Organic and polymer chemistry
  • Military
  • Nuclear
  • Medicine
  • Precautions
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • External links

{{Redirect|3Li|the isotope of lithium with three nucleons|Lithium-3{{chem2|^{3}Li}}}}

Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense 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. It exhibits a metallic luster when pure, but quickly corrodes in air to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It does not occur freely in nature, but occurs mainly 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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “lithium” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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