Alkali metals (lithium, sodium, potassium) are so soft that they can be cut with a knife.
Sodium, potassium, lithium are soft metals and can be easily cut. It is the second least dense metal after lithium.
Lithium itself is a very light weight soft metal and is, for a metal, highly reactive. For example, lithium in contact with water will react to form lithium oxide and hydrogen gas, presenting a potential fire hazard. Conventional methods for cutting lithium involve the use of knives or dies.
Did you know: #Lithium is an alkali metal. It is silver-white in pure form and so soft it can be cut with a butter knife. It has one of the lowest melting points and a high boiling point for a metal.
Lithium metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It is silvery-white. In air it oxidizes to lithium oxide.
You do not want to touch elemental lithium with your bare hands, especially if you're nervous. (It reacts strongly with moisture, liberating hydrogen gas. On the plus side, this gas will usually not spontaneously catch fire.)
Reactivity of lithium increases with surface area. Lithium should only be handled by trained personnel wearing proper personal protective equipment.
Take lithium with or immediately after meals to lessen stomach upset. Do not crush or chew this medication. Doing so can release all of the drug at once, increasing the risk of side effects. Also, do not split the tablets unless they have a score line and your doctor or pharmacist tells you to do so.
Lithium-ion Battery Hazards
Broken or cracked cases can allow moisture and oxygen to enter the battery and oxidize the lithium components, causing a heat reaction. This can lead to fires or explosions. Overheating, overcharging and shock from dropping or crushing can also cause heat reactions to occur.
As the tablets are not enteric coated nor controlled release, they can theoretically be broken in half, however they should not be crushed or chewed, as this would reduce the delayed disintegration properties of the tablet.
Elevated ambient temperatures can trigger thermal runaway in batteries – which is when the heat generated within the cell is greater than the heat that is dissipated from the battery. Thermal runaway will not only destroy your lithium-ion battery, it will also contribute to the risk of fires or explosions.
As fire fighters have discovered in recent years, lithium-ion battery fires are prone to reigniting. That's because the lithium salts in the battery are self-oxidizing, which means that they can't be "starved out" like a traditional fire.
The alkali metals - lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium and francium -- are all shiny, soft and highly reactive. They're soft enough to cut with a knife, and freshly cut surfaces tarnish rapidly in the air. They have to be stored under soil, and are never found naturally as free elements.
It has long been known that lithium has toxic effects on the thyroid gland and the kidneys. The thyroid toxicity, caused primarily by lithium's interference with thyroid hormones' release from the gland (19) affects up to 19% of treated patients (20).
The United States Geological Survey revealed that the world's identified lithium resources are estimated to be around 79 million metric tons, with the largest reserves in Chile, Argentina, and Australia. The estimated amount of lithium needed to meet current demand is only between 0.5 – 1.3 million tons.
Lithium reacts intensely with water, forming lithium hydroxide and highly flammable hydrogen. The colourless solution is highly alkalic.
Excessive heat — for example from using a faulty charger and overcharging the battery, or due to a short circuit — can damage the battery cell internally and cause it to fail. The major issue with lithium-ion batteries overheating is a phenomenon known as thermal runaway.
"And so for a standard recycling facility or a landfill where these batteries may end up, many of these large facilities are seeing two fires a week from lithium-ion batteries that are improperly disposed." Staley said nine deaths in New York City have been related to lithium-ion batteries.
Results indicate that such a course of lithium in normals induces dysphoric mood change and psychomotor slowing, without significant relationship to either plasma or RBC lithium concentrations.
Lithium helps reduce feelings of mania — excited, high mood, distracted. It also helps to treat bipolar episodes. Your doctor may prescribe lithium for long periods of time (months or years). It's important to continue treatment, even when you feel well.
The treatment serum level range is 0.8-1.2 mmol/L, but Lithium levels above 1.2 mmol/L can be toxic and a level above 2.0 mmol/L is potentially fatal.
Since none of the blood or urine samples collected after immersion of the arm in lithium chloride solution showed any increase in lithium concentration compared with that of normal blood and urine, we conclude that the skin is entirely impermeable to the lithium kation.
It's crucial that lithium-ion batteries are stored in a cool, dry environment to maintain the performance of the battery — as well as its safety. Therefore, we recommend storing batteries in an inside environment, that is away from direct sunlight, excess heat, ignition sources and flammable substances.
If you notice a strong or unusual odor coming from the battery, this is a bad sign. These batteries emit toxic fumes when they fail. If your device is smoking, a fire may have already started. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for using, charging, storing, maintaining, and disposing.