Lithium Element (Periodic Table)

Lithium (Li) is a chemical element of the periodic table, located in group 1 and period 2, having the atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal whose name comes from the Greek word “lithos” (which means stone). It is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.

group

period

1
H

2
He

3
Li

4
Be

5
B

6
C

7
N

8
O

9
F

10
Ne

11
Na

12
Mg

13
Al

14
Si

15
P

16
S

17
Cl

18
Ar

19
K

20
Ca

21
Sc

22
Ti

23
V

24
Cr

25
Mn

26
Fe

27
Co

28
Ni

29
Cu

30
Zn

31
Ga

32
Ge

33
As

34
Se

35
Br

36
Kr

37
Rb

38
Sr

39
Y

40
Zr

41
Nb

42
Mo

43
Tc

44
Ru

45
Rh

46
Pd

47
Ag

48
Cd

49
In

50
Sn

51
Sb

52
Te

53
I

54
Xe

55
Cs

56
Ba

72
Hf

73
Ta

74
W

75
Re

76
Os

77
Ir

78
Pt

79
Au

80
Hg

81
Tl

82
Pb

83
Bi

84
Po

85
At

86
Rn

87
Fr

88
Ra

104
Rf

105
Db

106
Sg

107
Bh

108
Hs

109
Mt

110
Ds

111
Rg

112
Cn

113
Nh

114
Fl

115
Mc

116
Lv

117
Ts

118
Og

57
La

58
Ce

59
Pr

60
Nd

61
Pm

62
Sm

63
Eu

64
Gd

65
Tb

66
Dy

67
Ho

68
Er

69
Tm

70
Yb

71
Lu

89
Ac

90
Th

91
Pa

92
U

93
Np

94
Pu

95
Am

96
Cm

97
Bk

98
Cf

99
Es

100
Fm

101
Md

102
No

103
Lr

– s block

Lithium Applications (or Uses)

Here are the applications (or uses) of lithium:

Lithium is used in lithium grease as a lubricant to reduce the friction in a garage door, car hinge, ball joint, etc.

Lithium is used in ceramics as it reduces the thermal expansion and increases the strength of a ceramic material

Lithium is used to make rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, electric vehicles, etc.

Lithium is used as an additive in the casting process to increase fluidity and reduce veining

Compounds of lithium are used as a pyrotechnic colorant to give a red color to fireworks

Lithium is used in silicon nanowires

Military uses lithium as a fuel in thermonuclear weapons

Lithium is used in the medical sector to treat bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression)

Lithium chloride and lithium bromide are the hygroscopic materials used as desiccants for gas streams

Lithium is used as a neutron absorber in nuclear fusion

Lithium fluoride is used in optics for infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV) applications

Lithium present in organolithium compound is used in the production of polymer and fine chemicals

Lithium is used as an alloy with aluminum and magnesium to improve their strength

Lithium Facts

Here are the facts about lithium:

Lithium has the lowest density among all metals. Its density is about half that of water, so it floats on water

Lithium is soft enough to be cut with a knife

Lithium burns with a red-colored flame when it comes in contact with the air

Lithium never occurs freely in nature and is available only in igneous rocks

Lithium reacts vigorously with air and water, so it is stored in oil to prevent the reaction with water

FAQs on Lithium Element

Lithium
‣ What does lithium look like? Appearance: silvery-white
‣ When was lithium discovered and by whom? Discovery: Johan August Arfwedson (1817) First isolation: William Thomas Brande (1821)
‣ Where is lithium found on the periodic table? Location: Lithium is found in the first column of the periodic table below the hydrogen element.
‣ What is the atomic number of lithium? Atomic number (Z): 3
‣ What’s the symbol for lithium? Symbol: Li
‣ What is the atomic weight of lithium? Standard atomic weight: [6.938, 6.997] conventional: 6.94
‣ What block does lithium belong to? Block: s-block
‣ What is the family or group of lithium? Group: 1 (hydrogen and alkali metals)
‣ Which period does lithium belong to? Period: 2
‣ What is the atomic radius of lithium? Atomic radius: empirical: 152 pm
‣ What is the covalent radius of lithium? Covalent radius: 128±7 pm
‣ Lithium Van der Waals radius: 182 pm
‣ What is lithium’s melting point? Melting point: 453.65 K (180.50 °C, 356.90 °F)
‣ What is lithium’s boiling point? Boiling point: 1603 K (1330 °C, 2426 °F)
‣ Why lithium has high melting and boiling point? The ionization energy and binding energy of lithium is high, so the melting point and boiling point of lithium is high.
‣ Lithium critical point: 3220 K, 67 MPa (extrapolated)
‣ How many electron shells does lithium have? Electrons per shell: 2, 1
‣ What is the electron configuration of lithium? Electron configuration: [He] 2s¹
‣ What is lithium ionization energy? Ionization energies: 1st: 520.2 kJ/mol 2nd: 7298.1 kJ/mol 3rd: 11815.0 kJ/mol
‣ Is lithium solid at room temperature? Phase (at r.t): solid
‣ What is lithium’s density? Density (near r.t): 0.534 g/cm³ when liquid (at m.p): 0.512 g/cm³
‣ Lithium magnetic ordering: paramagnetic
‣ Lithium natural occurrence: primordial
‣ What is the oxidation state of lithium? Oxidation state: +1
‣ What is the electronegativity of lithium? Electronegativity: Pauling scale: 0.98
‣ Lithium heat of fusion: 3.00 kJ/mol
‣ Lithium heat of vaporization: 136 kJ/mol
‣ Lithium molar heat capacity: 24.860 J/(mol K)
‣ Lithium molar magnetic susceptibility: +14.2 × 10^-6 cm³/mol (298 K)
‣ Speed of sound in lithium: 6000 m/s (at 20 °C)
‣ What type of structure does lithium have? Crystal structure: body-centered cubic (bcc)
‣ Thermal expansion of lithium: 46 µm/(m.K) (at 25 °C)
‣ Thermal conductivity of lithium: 84.8 W/(m.K)
‣ Lithium electrical resistivity: 92.8 nΩ.m (at 20 °C)
‣ What is the hardness of lithium? Mohs hardness: 0.6 Brinell hardness: 5 MPa
‣ Young’s modulus of lithium: 4.9 GPa
‣ Shear modulus of lithium: 4.2 GPa
‣ Bulk modulus of lithium: 11 GPa
‣ Lithium CAS number: 7439-93-2

‣ Lithium vapor pressure

Vapor pressure
P (Pa)	1	10	100	1 k	10 k	100 k
at T (K)	797	885	995	1144	1337	1610

‣ How many isotopes does lithium have?

Main isotopes of lithium
Isotope	Abundance	Half-life (t_1/2)	Decay mode	Product
⁶Li	7.59 %		stable
⁷Li	92.41 %		stable

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Related:

Periodic Table of Elements

Also Read:

Lithium Applications (or Uses)

Lithium Facts

FAQs on Lithium Element

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