Lithium is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal, highly reactive and flammable.
Core Principles & Analysis
Johan August Arfwedson discovered lithium in the mineral petalite in 1817, and Davy and Brande soon isolated small amounts of the metal by electrolysis.
It is the least dense of all metals at 0.534 g/cm3, floats on oil, and burns with a distinctive crimson flame.
Lithium-ion batteries power phones, laptops, and electric cars, while lithium carbonate has been a frontline treatment for bipolar disorder since the mid-20th century.