Friday, March 30, 2007

Lithium

The first man-made nuclear reaction was produced by Cockroft and Walton in 1929, when the stable isotope, Lithium-7, was bombarded by accelerated protons, forming Beryllium-8, which underwent spontaneous fission to form two alpha particles.

However, the major geopolitical significance of lithium at present, pertains to its widespread use in batteries. Consumption of lithium increased by 4–5% per year between 2002 and 2005. The Wikipedia entry suggests that "Continued expansion in the portable electronic products market and commercialisation of hybrid electric vehicles using lithium batteries suggest growth of up to 10% per year in lithium carbonate consumption in this market through 2010...China may emerge as a significant producer of brine-based lithium carbonate towards the end of this decade. Potential capacity of up to 45,000 tonnes per year could come on-stream if projects in Qinghai province and Tibet proceed." So, whilst China continues to burn hydrocarbons, it will also be able to sell lithium to the environmentally-penitent, hybrid-vehicled West.

None of which was in Amy Lee's mind when she wrote 'Lithium':


The first Evanescence album, 'Fallen' (2003), was a brilliant gothic, post Nu-metal, post-Radiohead record. The band, however, were basically built around Amy Lee and Ben Moody, and Ben left the band "due to creative differences". Their second album, 'The Open Door' (2006) was a huge disappointment, and I'd be surprised if Evanescence do anything but fulfill their name, and fade away. Amy Lee, however, has a superb voice, and 'Lithium' is a great song, so perhaps Amy has a future.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

A bit dangerously power-ballad territory for me, I'm afraid.

Gordon McCabe said...

Treacherous footing, indeed.

Anonymous said...

Yes, we seem to have similar tastes, Gordon. I always have Evanescence on when I'm doing the ironing. Now ironing is something I think Amy Lee should do more often - then she'd always have something ready to wear and have no need to climb up skyscrapers in her nightie.

Gordon McCabe said...

She probably irons her tourniquet though.

Anonymous said...

My name is Jason Gorman and I am 45 years old. My wife was taking 1200mg of Lithium Carbonate daily prescribed by the doctor for over two years. During this time no lab work was ever ordered. It built up in her system over a period of time. She was taken to the ER where she almost died. Her pulse was down to 31 and her blood pressure as low as 43 over 17. She under went kidney dialysis continuously for over 30 hours in ICU. She spent a total of 5 days in the hospital. I strongly recommend against taking Lithium. At least have periodic Lab Work done. Also if you do take this medication look up the side effects on the internet.

My wife has experienced some of these side effects-
Dizziness, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Confusion, Tremors, Muscle Weakness, Loss of Bladder Control, Inability to talk

I hope this information will be useful to others,
Jason Gorman