Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A soft, silvery, highly reactive metallic element that is used as a heat transfer medium, in thermonuclear weapons, and in various alloys, ceramics, and optical forms of glass. Atomic number 3; atomic weight 6.941; melting point 179°C; boiling point 1,317°C; specific gravity 0.534; valence 1. See Table at element.
- n. Any of several salts of lithium, especially lithium carbonate.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Chemical symbol, Li or L; atomic weight, A metallic element having a silver-white luster, quickly tarnishing in the air. It may be cut with a knife, but is less soft than potassium or sodium; it fuses at 180° C., and takes fire at a somewhat higher temperature. Lithium is the lightest of all known solid bodies, its specific gravity being 0.5936. It forms salts analogous to those of potassium and sodium. It occurs only in combination, most abundantly in the minerals spodumene, petalite, amblygonite, triphylite (and lithiophilite), and lepidolite (lithia mica).
Wiktionary
- n. The simplest alkali metal, the lightest solid element, and the third lightest chemical element (symbol Li) with an atomic number of 3.
- n. Lithium carbonate or other preparations of lithium metal used to treat manic depression and bipolar disorders.
- n. A lithium battery.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A metallic element of the alkaline group, occurring in several minerals, as petalite, spodumene, lepidolite, triphylite, etc., and otherwise widely disseminated, though in small quantities.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a soft silver-white univalent element of the alkali metal group; the lightest metal known; occurs in several minerals
Etymologies
- From lithia.
Examples
“The name lithium comes from the Greek word lithos which means stone because lithium was first discovered in rocks and the other two alkali metals were first discovered in plants.”
“He said Nissan boasts 18 years of development experience in lithium-ion batteries, which will power the Leaf, and the company developed its first electric vehicle in 1947.”
The Huffington Post: Nissan Shows Tiny Electric Concept Vehicle (VIDEO)
“Daimler has been investing heavily in lithium ion batteries, which appears to be the fuel cell of industry consensus, and it also has entered into an alliance with France's Renault and Japan's Nissan that could see the automakers share technology for electric cars and batteries.”
“By combining Hitachi 's technological expertise in lithium-ion batteries with Johnson Control' s strong auto maker client-base and mass production infrastructure, the partnership will benefit both firms, a Hitachi spokeswoman said.”
The Wall Street Journal: Hitachi, Johnson Controls in Lithium-Ion Battery Tie-Up
“Hundreds of active pharmaceutical ingredients are used in a variety of manufacturing, including drugmaking: For example, lithium is used to make ceramics and treat bipolar disorder; nitroglycerin is a heart drug and also used in explosives; copper shows up in everything from pipes to contraceptives.”
The New Yorker on the underground world of “neuroenhancing” drugs. - Boing Boing
“U.S. regulators are devising various ways to crack down on air-cargo shipments of computers, cellphones and other electronic devices that contain lithium ion batteries, despite stiff opposition from some of the biggest makers of those products.”
The Wall Street Journal: Plane Fires Prompt Battery Safeguards
“When lithium is exposed to the air it could start a fire.”
Top 10 Battery Hacks, Tips, And Tricks | Lifehacker Australia
“Well, given current technology, lithium is the key to battery power.”
GreenTech War: Japan, China, Lithium, Batteries and Bolivia : Law is Cool
“Not to be beat out by the slew of electric carmakers that seem to be emerging from the woodwork these days, ExxonMobil has teamed up with Electrovaya, a pioneer in lithium-ion battery technology, to bring us the Maya 300.”
Maya 300: All Electric Vehicle Brought To You By ExxonMobil | Inhabitat
“They contain lithium-aluminate pellets lined with zirconium, and are clad into long pencil-shaped, stainless steel rods.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘lithium’.
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Chemical Elements
A list of chemical elements
hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium, magnesium and 106 more...
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Metals
words describing various metals
argent, aluminum, titanium, iron, copper, steel, mercury, bronze, gold, silver, platinum, lead and 6 more...
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vijaimanikandan's list
Vocabulary
mass murder, superhero, bubbly, narcotics, murder, supple, neolithic, howard hughes, deus ex machina, island, mystery, suspense and 29 more...
oroboros Li. Dec 15, 2007