Lithium · element 3
The lightest of all metals, soft enough to cut with a knife and now inside almost every phone
Key facts
Lithium is a soft, silvery metal and the lightest solid element. A lump of it feels oddly weightless in the hand, with roughly half the density of water. It is the first of the alkali metals, the family that fills the left-hand column of the periodic table and reacts eagerly with water.
For most of the two centuries since its discovery, lithium was a specialist curiosity, used in glass, greases and a handful of medicines. That changed with the rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Today lithium sits inside phones, laptops, power tools and electric cars, and demand for it has reshaped the mining industry in a single generation.
Where it is found
Lithium is too reactive to exist as a metal in nature. It occurs in minerals such as spodumene and petalite, which are mined from hard rock, and it is dissolved in salty brines beneath the dry lake beds of the Andes. The so-called lithium triangle of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia holds a huge share of the world's brine resources. Australia is the largest producer of lithium from hard rock.
Lithium is also one of only three elements made in significant amounts in the Big Bang itself, along with hydrogen and helium. Stars tend to destroy lithium rather than make it, so the amount in the universe is small and still puzzles astronomers.
How it was discovered
In 1817 a young Swedish chemist, Johan August Arfwedson, was analysing a mineral called petalite from the island of Uto in the laboratory of Jons Jacob Berzelius. Part of the sample was something he could not identify. He worked out that it was a new alkali similar to sodium and potassium, but lighter. Berzelius suggested the name lithium, from the Greek word for stone, because unlike its cousins it had been found in a rock rather than in plant ashes.
Arfwedson never managed to separate the metal itself. In 1821 William Brande in London obtained a small amount by passing electricity through lithium oxide, and larger quantities followed later in the century once the electrolysis of molten lithium chloride was developed.
What we use it for
Batteries dominate. Lithium ions are small and light, and a lithium cell can store more energy for its weight than any other common rechargeable chemistry. The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognised the scientists who developed it. As electric cars and grid storage expand, batteries now account for the majority of lithium consumed.
Lithium also has older roles. Lithium carbonate lowers the melting point of glass and ceramics, and gives cookware and glass-ceramic hobs their resistance to thermal shock. Lithium hydroxide scrubs carbon dioxide from the air in submarines and spacecraft. In medicine, lithium salts have been used since the mid twentieth century to stabilise mood in bipolar disorder, a use that remains important today.
Reading the numbers
Lithium melts at about 180 degrees Celsius, so a domestic oven could soften it, and it boils at about 1330 degrees. Its density is 0.534 grams per cubic centimetre, barely half that of water and less than one fourteenth that of iron. It would float on water if it did not react with it, and it does float on the oil in which it is stored.
The configuration [He] 2s1 tells the whole story. Lithium has a full inner shell of two electrons and a single electron in the outer shell. Losing that one electron costs only 520 kilojoules per mole, the lowest first ionisation energy of any element in period 2, while removing a second electron would cost fourteen times as much. So lithium always forms a Li+ ion with a single positive charge. It sits at the top of group 1, in period 2, as the first element to start a new shell after helium.
Safety and the environment
Lithium metal reacts with water to release hydrogen gas and heat, though less violently than sodium or potassium. It can ignite in air if heated, and lithium fires need special extinguishers. Lithium-ion batteries are safe in normal use but can overheat and catch fire if punctured, crushed or badly charged, which is why airlines restrict them and why damaged batteries should never go in household bins.
Mining has its own footprint. Extracting lithium from brine uses large volumes of water in some of the driest places on Earth, raising concerns for local communities and ecosystems. Recycling of lithium batteries is growing but still recovers only a fraction of the metal used.
Did you know?
- Lithium is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element.
- Lithium was one of only three elements created in significant amounts in the Big Bang.
- In a flame test lithium burns a deep crimson, and lithium compounds are used to colour red fireworks.
- Lithium is the only alkali metal that reacts with nitrogen gas at room temperature, forming lithium nitride.
- The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for developing the lithium-ion battery.
- Lithium salts have been prescribed to stabilise mood in bipolar disorder since the middle of the twentieth century.
More in the alkali metals
These share a column with lithium, so their outer electrons are arranged in a similar way and they tend to behave alike.
See all 6 alkali metals on one page, or browse all 118 elements.
Compare Lithium with another element
Each comparison has a side-by-side data table and a plain-English summary of the differences.
Frequently asked questions
Is lithium a metal?
Yes. It is a soft, silvery alkali metal that conducts electricity and can be cut with a knife. It is the lightest of all metals and would float on water if it did not react with it.
Why is lithium used in batteries?
Lithium atoms are very light and give up their single outer electron easily, so a lithium cell can store a lot of energy for its weight and deliver a high voltage. Lithium ions are also small enough to slip in and out of electrode materials thousands of times, which makes the battery rechargeable.
Does lithium react with water?
Yes. It fizzes steadily, releasing hydrogen gas and forming lithium hydroxide, a strong alkali. The reaction is slower and less violent than sodium's, but the hydrogen can still ignite.
Where does most lithium come from?
Australia mines the most, from the hard rock mineral spodumene. Chile and Argentina produce large amounts from salt lake brines. Most of the raw material is then refined in China into the chemicals used to make batteries.
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Written by Anthony. Updated September 2026. Numerical data from Periodic-Table-JSON (CC BY-SA), cross-checked against the Lithium reference article. Spotted an error? Tell us.