lithium: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As	Li

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A labeled diagram of the lithium element from the periodic table displays its atomic number (3), symbol (Li), electron configuration, and name. It highlights lithium as an alkali metal, solid at room temperature, with a body-centered cubic crystal structure and strongly basic higher-valence oxides.

Large open-pit mine with drilling equipment and vehicles positioned in a grid pattern on the quarry floor for lithium and spodumene extraction in Ravensthorpe, Western Australia.

Figure 12: The energy levels of three nuclei with A = 6, relative to the ground state of 6Li after subtraction of the calculated electrostatic energy. The isospin T = 1 levels exist in all three nuclei.

Line graph showing the first ionization energies of the elements as a function of atomic number, with peaks at noble gases like helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon, and labeled elements at key points.

A scientific graph plots average nuclear binding energy per nucleon (in MeV) against atomic mass number, showing a sharp rise at low mass numbers, peaking near iron (Fe), then gradually declining for heavier elements. Key isotopes are labeled along the curve.

decay of beryllium-7

lithium-ion batteries

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Topics

lithium-7 lithium-6 lithium-ion battery lithium cell lithium carbonate lithium chemical element alkali metal hydrogen carbon sodium nitrogen sulfur phosphorus boron iodine fluorine zinc

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