Industry
The isotope (6Li) with a mass number of 6 is placed in an atomic reactor and irradiated with neutrons to obtain tritium. Tritium can be used for thermonuclear reactions and has important applications. Lithium is mainly used as the thickener of lubricating grease in the form of lithium stearate. This lubricant has high water resistance, high temperature resistance and good low temperature performance. Lithium compounds are used in ceramic products as cosolvent. It is also used as deoxidizer or dechlorinating agent in metallurgical industry and lead based bearing alloy. Lithium is also an important component of beryllium, magnesium and aluminum light alloys.
Lithium is closely related to daily life. Lithium ion batteries used in digital products such as laptops, mobile phones and Bluetooth headsets carried by individuals contain rich lithium. Lithium ion battery is a high-energy storage medium. Due to the rapid development of lithium ion battery, the derivative has driven the vigorous development of lithium mine, lithium carbonate and other companies. Lithium metal batteries are also used in the military field.
Lithium has been neglected for quite a long time since its discovery, and only a few lithium compounds have been used in glass, ceramics, lubricants and other sectors.
The main industrial use of lithium was to use lithium stearate as the thickener of lubricant. Lithium based grease has high water resistance, high temperature resistance and good low temperature performance. If lithium lubricant is added to some parts of the car once, it will be enough for the car to be scrapped.
In metallurgical industry, lithium can strongly react with oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, sulfur and other substances to act as deoxidizer and desulfurizer. In the smelting process of copper, the addition of lithium in the range of 1/100000 to 1/10000 can improve the internal structure of copper, make it more compact, and thus improve the conductivity of copper. Lithium can remove harmful impurities and gases from high-quality copper castings. Among the high quality special alloy steels required by modern times, lithium is the most ideal material for removing impurities.
The combustion of 1kg lithium can release 42998kJ of heat, so lithium is one of the best metals used as rocket fuel. The energy released by 1kg lithium through thermonuclear reaction is equivalent to the combustion of more than 20000 tons of high-quality coal. If lithium or lithium compounds are used as solid fuels to replace solid propellants and as propellants for rockets, missiles and spaceships, they will not only have high energy and burning speed, but also have very high specific impulse. The payload of a rocket directly depends on the specific impulse.
If lithium is added in glass manufacturing, the solubility of lithium glass is only 1/100 of that of ordinary glass (about one ten thousandth of a gram of glass in each ordinary glass of hot tea). After lithium is added, the glass becomes "insoluble" and can resist acid corrosion.
Pure aluminum is too soft. When a small amount of lithium, magnesium, beryllium and other metals are added into aluminum to melt into an alloy, it is light and hard. Using this alloy to make an airplane can reduce the weight of the airplane by 2/3. Two people can lift a lithium airplane. Lithium lead alloy is a good antifriction material.
It was after the discovery of its excellent nuclear properties that lithium really became a metal attracting worldwide attention. Because of its unique performance in the atomic energy industry, it is called "high-energy metal".
Lithium battery is a high-quality energy developed in the 1930s and 1940s. It has been widely used in various fields and is a promising power battery due to its high open circuit voltage, high specific energy, wide operating temperature range, balanced discharge, self discharge electron and other advantages. Using lithium battery to generate electricity to drive a car costs only 1/3 of the cost of ordinary gasoline engine cars. Tritium is made from lithium and used to launch atomic battery pack. It can work continuously for 20 years without charging. To solve the oil crisis and exhaust pollution of automobiles, one of the important ways is to develop new batteries such as lithium batteries.
One of the early important uses of lithium compounds was in ceramic products, especially in enamel products. The main role of lithium compounds was as flux.
Lithium fluoride is extremely transparent to ultraviolet rays, and the glass made of it can penetrate the deepest mystery hidden in the Milky Way. Lithium glass can be used to make TV picture tubes.
During World War II, American pilots were equipped with portable and emergency hydrogen gas source lithium hydride pills. When the plane crashes and falls on the water, lithium hydride will dissolve and release a large amount of hydrogen as soon as it touches the water, which will inflate the life-saving equipment
