Lithium into 7 Up - Periodic Table of Videos

Lithium reacts with water easily, but with noticeably less energy than other alkali metals. The reaction forms hydrogen gas and lithium hydroxide in aqueous solution.^[5] Because of its reactivity with water, lithium is usually stored in a hydrocarbon sealant, often petroleum jelly. Though the heavier alkali metals can be stored in more dense substances, such as mineral oil, lithium is not dense enough to be fully submerged in these liquids.^[15] In moist air, lithium rapidly tarnishes to form a black coating of lithium hydroxide (LiOH and LiOH·H₂O),lithium nitride (Li₃N) and lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃, the result of a secondary reaction between LiOH and CO₂).^[16]

When placed over a flame, lithium compounds give off a striking crimson color, but when it burns strongly the flame becomes a brilliant silver. Lithium will ignite and burn in oxygen when exposed to water or water vapors.^[17] Lithium is flammable, and it is potentially explosive when exposed to air and especially to water, though less so than the other alkali metals. The lithium-water reaction at normal temperatures is brisk but nonviolent because the hydrogen produced does not ignite on its own. As with all alkali metals, lithium fires are difficult to extinguish, requiring dry powder fire extinguishers (Class D type). Lithium is the only metal which reacts with nitrogen under normal conditions.^[18][19]