Lithium Research Paper

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Pages: 3

The first lithium mineral was discovered on the Swedish island of Uto by the Brazilian, Joze Bonifacio de Andralda e Silva in the 1790s. It was observed to give an intense crimson flame when thrown onto a fire. In 1817, Johan August Arfvedson of Stockholm analyzed it and deduced it contained a previously unknown metal, which he called lithium. He realized this was a new alkali metal and a lighter version of sodium. However, unlike sodium he was not able to separate it by electrolysis. In 1821 William Brande obtained a tiny amount this way but not enough on which to make measurements. It was not until 1855 that the German chemist Robert Bunsen and the British chemist Augustus Matthiessen obtained it in bulk by the electrolysis of molten lithium chloride. Lithium was discovered from a mineral, while other common alkali metals were discovered from plant material. This is thought to explain the origin of the element’s name; from ‘lithos’. The image is based on an alchemical symbol for stone. A soft, silvery metal. It has the lowest density of all metals. It reacts …show more content…
The element was discovered on Earth in 1817 by Johan August Arfvedson (1792-1841) in Stockholm when he investigated petalite, one of the first lithium minerals to be discovered. (It was observed to give an intense crimson flame when sprinkled on to a fire.) He deduced that petalite contained an unknown metal, which he called lithium from the Greek word for a stone, lithos, although he never actually produced any. He reasoned that it was a new alkali metal and lighter than sodium. However, unlike sodium, which Humphry Davy had isolated in 1807 by the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide, Arfvedson was unable to produced lithium by the same method. A sample of lithium metal was finally extracted in 1855 and then by the electrolysis of molten lithium