<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><BODY BGCOLOR="#c0c0c0"><FONT SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">In a message dated 9/1/2003 10:47:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time, khoard@midsouth.rr.com writes:<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Subj:<B>Re: response to Troys Li-Ion post </B><BR>
Date:9/1/2003 10:47:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time<BR>
From:<A HREF="mailto:khoard@midsouth.rr.com">khoard@midsouth.rr.com</A><BR>
Reply-to:<A HREF="mailto:discussion@nsrca.org">discussion@nsrca.org</A><BR>
To:<A HREF="mailto:discussion@nsrca.org">discussion@nsrca.org</A><BR>
<I>Sent from the Internet </I><BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Gentlemen,<BR>
<BR>
This may have been covered already. . . but if I remember my high school chemistry classes, doesn't Lithium rank right up there with Sodium as far as being dangerous in the presence of oxygen?<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Keith L. Hoard<BR>
Cordova, TN<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
<BR>
Right you are Keith, except the term "dangerous" is unfortunate. I would use "reactive", which means alot of good can happen from the reaction with the metal.<BR>
<BR>
I worked with Sodium metal a little in Chem Lab. The metal is extremely reactive, so much so that it is stored in heavy saturated oil to keep moisture away. Very cool material. When allowed to come in contact with water, as in "dropped in a beaker full" , I'd get a super display of bubbles of, you guessed it, hydrogen gas. Common dilute lye (sodium hydroxide) was left in the beaker<BR>
<BR>
Lithium is far more reactive than Sodium. I have never worked with Li; its potential energy is such that it can autoignite in the presence of most any oxidizer. This is even Kooler material.<BR>
<BR>
Speaking of oxidizers, did you know that carbon doxide is also an oxidizer when certain conditions exist? But I digress<BR>
<BR>
Li, is the most "electropositive" material around (to use a Chemist term) and that makes it well suited for batteries of highest potential. No, It isn't an "ideal" material because it is so reactive, but alot of really smart folks have figured out how to protect the metal in a battery and keep it away from oxidizers, such that the reaction that does take place in the battery, is reversible (another Chemist term that means, you guessed it, rechargeable).<BR>
<BR>
Matt K<BR>
<BR>
</FONT></HTML>