ear fusion power plants, lithium will be used to produce tritium in magnetically confined reactors using deuterium and tritium as the fuel. Tritium does not occur naturally and will be produced by surrounding the reacting plasma with a 'blanket' containing lithium where neutrons from the deuterium-tritium reaction in the plasma will react with the lithium to produce more tritium. 6Li + n в†’ 4He + 3H. Various means of doing this will be tested at the ITER reactor being built at Cadarache, France.
Lithium is used as a source for alpha particles, or helium nuclei. When 7Li is bombarded by accelerated protons 8Be is formed, which undergoes spontaneous fission to form two alpha particles. This was the first man-made nuclear reaction, produced by Cockroft and Walton in 1929.
Other uses:
Lithium hydroxide (LiOH) is an important compound of lithium obtained from lithium carbonate (Li2CO3). It is a strong base, and when heated with a fat it produces a lithium soap. Lithium soap has the ability to thicken oils, and it is used to manufacture lubricating greases.
Lithium hydroxide and lithium peroxide are used in confined areas, such as aboard spacecraft and submarines, for air purification. Lithium hydroxide absorbs carbon dioxide from the air by reacting with it to form lithium carbonate, and is preferred over other alkaline hydroxides for its low weight. Lithium peroxide (Li2O2) in presence of moisture not only absorbs carbon dioxide to form lithium carbonate, but also releases oxygen. For example 2 Li2O2 + 2 CO2 в†’ 2 Li2CO3 + O2. p> Lithium compounds are used in red fireworks and flares.
The Mark 50 Torpedo Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System (SCEPS) uses a small tank of sulfur hexafluoride gas which is sprayed over a block of solid lithium. The reaction generates enormous heat which is used to generate steam from seawater. The steam propels the torpedo in a closed Rankine cycle. [65]
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Figure. 5. The red lithium flame leads to lithium's use in flares and pyrotechnics
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7 . Precautions
Due to its alkaline tarnish, lithium metal is corrosive and requires special handling to avoid skin contact. Breathing lithium dust or lithium compounds (which are often alkaline) initially irritate the nose and throat, while higher exposure can cause a buildup of fluid in the lungs, leading to pulmonary edema. The metal itself is a handling hazard because of the caustic hydroxide produced when it is in contact with moisture. Lithium is safely stored in non-reactive compounds such as naphtha. [66]
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Figure. 6. Lithium ingots with a thin layer of black oxide tarnish
7.1 Regulation
Some jurisdictions limit the sale of lithium batteries, which are the most readily available source of lithium metal for ordinary consumers. Lithium can be used to reduce pseudoephedrine and ephedrine to methamphetamine in the Birch reduction method, which employs solutions of alkali metals dissolved in anhydrous ammonia.
Carriage and shipment of some kinds of lithium batteries may be prohibited aboard certain types of transportation (particularly aircraft) because of the ability of most types of lithium batteries to fully discharge very rapidly when short-circuited, leading to overheating and possible explosion in a process called thermal runaway. Most consumer lithium batteries have thermal overload protection built-in to prevent this type of incident, or their design inherently limits short-circuit currents. Internal shorts have been known to develop due to manufacturing defects or damage to batteries that can lead to spontaneous thermal runaway. [67]
8 . Conclusion
As an individual representative of the periodic table of chemical elements Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev, the element has unique chemical and physical properties
Element is of great economic importance and plays a major role in world culture
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9 . References
1. Fraser Cain (16th Aug 2006). "Why Old Stars Seem to Lack Lithium".
2. I.-Juliana Sackmann and Arnold I. Boothroyd (1995). "Lithium Creation In Giant Stars ". Proc. of IAU General Assembly "Lithium Joint Discussion 11 ", ed. F. Spite and R. Pallavicini, Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana 66: 403-412.
3. Leonid S. Marochnik, Anwar Shukurov, Igor Yastrzhembsky, (1996). The Milky Way Galaxy. Taylor & Francis. pp. 42-46. ISBN 2881249310.
4. Takeru Ken Suzuki et al. (2000). "Primordial Lithium Abundance as a Stringent Constraint on the Baryonic Content of the Universe ". Astrophysics journal 540: 99-103. doi: 10.1...
