Lithium is an alkali metal element that has an atomic number of 3, an atomic weight, 6.941, and is denoted by the atomic symbol, Li. It is a silver-white metal that melts at 356.9°F (180.5° C) and boils at 2447.6°F (1342° C). It is the least dense of the metals, with a specific gravity of 0.534. Because it has the highest specific heat of any solid element, it is sometimes used as a heat transfer agent.

The story of lithium's discovery begins in 1800, with a report by a Brazilian scientist about two new minerals he discovered while traveling in Sweden. The scientist, Jozé Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, called the two minerals petalite and spodumene. For nearly two decades, mineralogists doubted de Andrada's reports. Then, in 1817, the two minerals were re-discovered by the Swedish chemist E. T. Svedenstjerna. Analysis of the two minerals began immediately, but...