Journalistic Intentions Writings

Lithium The White Oil

Journalism intentions project 2 4/11/2022 by Judith D. (Apondia)

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/dec/08/the-curse-of-white-oil-electric-veh...

Lithium was discovered by John Ayfvedson. The word lithium is from a Greek word, lithum which means stone. Referred to stone, because it cannot be mined by itself. The mineral is found in igneous rock which, contains large crystal deposits. Lithium is also mined from ocean water and brine. Today it is often referred to as White Oil.

Lithium in its basic form is a silver white color. When it is exposed to moist air it quickly changes color to a dark grey or black, because of tarnish. The soft alkali metal has an atomic number of 3. It's listed on the periodic table as Li. Considered one of the least dense metals, Lithium is highly reactive and flammable. The element is a rare commodity.

Lithium use dates back to the 7th century B.C. when it was used for making glass and starting fires.

John Ayfvedson discovered it on earth in 1817, in Stockholm. Part of his discovery produced an intense orange colored flame when lithium was sprinkled into a fire.

Today, NASA science gives us a theory. Small amounts of Lithium were created during the big bang, when our universe was first formed. Now, Nova explosions of stars all over the galaxy form more Lithium. The explosions distribute lithium across the universe to planets.

About 75 percent of Lithium is being mined in brine in Bolivia and chili. It is mined in salt deserts called salars. Mineral rich brines are pumped to the surface. Through a series of evaporation processes the lithium is coaxed into a state of use.

Recently, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla made an old statement new, when he announced, Tesla may be getting deeper into Lithium mining. The new announcement may have been, because Lithium prices have increased almost 400 percent since 2020. Tesla uses rechargeable batteries in their line of vehicles.

An ion is an atom or molecule with a net electric charge due to the loss or gain of one or more electrons. Lithium ions move from negative to the positive electrode during discharge and back when charging. This ability of lithium ions is especially useful in the creation of rechargable batteries.

Rechargeable batteries, lithium-ion batteries, are finding more and more uses as we depend on cellphones, electric automobiles, readers, laptops, and solar.

A breaking news article, January 7, 2022, by staff writers for Mining.com, explains a new process being explored that may resurrect dead li-ion batteries. This could be good news for human recycling society. Being able to recycle Li-ion batteries ia an important finding for the restoring of the earth to its natural beauty and functionality.

Even as there are pros and cons to oil use; cons: pollution of plastic products and emissions in the atmosphere causing planet warm up; pros easily distributed to isolated areas, encouragement of building solar and wind products.

There are also pros and cons to Li-ion use: cons: mining impact on environment, Lack of knowledge and convenient suppliers, improper use of charging and improper recycling causes fires and explosions; Pros: Need less power to charge and maintain charges, can be used to recharge smaller use equipment like phones, radios, flashlights, etc. Stores solar energy at high levels and maintains those levels in automobiles, RV use, and off the grid use.

We are historically in a technology boom. Everything we use as technology is subject to upgrade. Regular new products and better understanding of societies needs causes new break throughs to emerge.
As the cons make us thoughtful. about whether we are on the proper technological course?

The Pros in lifestyle ease are causing humanity to push on. Investing is a matter of what you believe will be right in the coming social aspects of our society.

Look back at history to make decisions. Look forward to make history.

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