Lithium batteries are in the news constantly. But lithium has plenty of other uses. It's a drug for bipolar disorder. It used to be put in soda for hangovers, and it saved the lives of the Apollo 13 astronauts. A little about lithium - a fascinating element.
If you were to conduct a random on-the-street survey of 100 New Yorkers and ask them the question "What is lithium?" the following will occur: 57 will ignore you entirely. 21 will ask for bus fare to Newark (It's always Newark. Not sure why.) 11 will tell you to go f########. 9 will punch you. 4 will say "batteries." 3 will say "a drug for bipolar disorder." 2 will vomit on you. 1 will vomit on one of the two guys who just vomited on you. That's not half bad. Seven people got the answer at least partly right and no one died. I say "only partly" because lithium does far more than stabilize sufferers of bipolar disorder or run your cordless drill. Anyone in the mood for a lithium lesson? Didn't think so. Too bad, you're getting one anyhow... LITHIUM METAL DOES NOT EXIST ON EARTH IN ITS NATURAL (METALLIC) FORM Lithium metal, a soft solid, that can be cut with a knife, is far too reactive to be found in its natural (metallic) form. This is because it belongs to the Group 1 element (alkali metals) on the periodic table - the most reactive class of metals. Lithium reacts instantly with oxygen and water, even though it is the least reactive Group 1 element (Figure 1). Figure 1. The alkali metals are found in the left column on the periodic table. All are too reactive to be found in their elemental forms; the reactivity increases with atomic weight (lower in the column). Image: Wikimedia Commons LITHIUM MINERALS All lithium is found in mineral form, usually in combination with oxygen, silicon, and aluminum. Some lithium mineral specimens are simply beautiful. Some lithium-containing minerals. Wow! Photos: Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Commons OTHER MISCELLANEOUS FACTS ABOUT LITHIUM Lithium is the lightest metal in the world. Its density is 0.534 grams…