Discovered by J. A. Arfvedson at Stockholm, Sweden. Isolated
by W. T. Brande 1821.
Remarks
Soft, white, silvery metal. Reacts slowly with oxygen and
water. Used in alloys (with Al and Mg), greases, batteries, glass,
medicine, and nuclear bombs.
Diagnostic tests:
In solution, a lithium will give an intense carmine-red flame test color,
the color somewhat resembling that of the strontium flame but deeper. In
very small quantities it is visible using a diffraction spectroscope. The lithium
minerals, which are either silicates or phosphates, do not become alkaline
after ignition.
References
Emsley, J., 1991; THE ELEMENTS : Sec. Ed.,
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 251 p.
(* - Mineral Name Is Not IMA Approved)
(! - New Dana classification added or changed from Danas New Mineralogy)
(? - IMA Discredited Mineral Species Name)
There are 131 minerals with Li in the Mineralogy Database.