lithia

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek λίθος (líthos, “a stone”), apparently because it is found only in minerals; discovered 1817 by Johan August Arfwedson.

noun

1. Lithium oxide, Li₂O, used in the manufacture of ceramics and glass.
   1839, Lithium, entry in The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume 14, page 43, These substances contain from about five to nearly ten per cent. of lithia in combination with silica, from which it is best separated by the following process of Berzelius: […] .
   This can be an acute problem with certain glass-ceramics because of the use of large quantities of lithia, in particular, which readily attack the refractories. 1990, A. Paul, Chemistry of Glasses, page 42
   The major source of lithia is lepidolite, the most widespread of the lithia-containing minerals with deposits in the United States, Canada, Rhodesia, South Africa, India, China, Russia, Japan and Germany. 1996, Peter A. Ciullo, Industrial Minerals and Their Uses: A Handbook and Formulary, page 462