High Lithium Content Research Articles

Constitution of Mixed-Alkali Phosphate Glasses: II, Constitution of Variable Lithium Constant Sodium-Potassium Phosphate Glasses

In order to study the cationic influence of lithium, if any, the constitution of variable lithium constant sodium-potassium phosphate glasses was determined using paper chromatographic methods. It was possible to prepare glasses with very low ñ, the number average chain length value. Glasses with ñ values of 2, 1.75, and 1.5 could be prepared for glasses with Li:Na:K atomic ratios of 1:1:1 and 2:1:1. Attempts to prepare a glass with ñ= 1.25 were unsuccessful. At higher lithium concentrations, it was not possible to prepare glasses with low ñ values. The constitution of lithium phosphate glasses was reinvestigated. A comparison of the constitutions of mixed-cation phosphate glasses and lithium glasses indicates a small but definite cationic effect. The significance of these results in relation to Van Wazer's polymer theory and distribution laws is discussed.

Occurrence of Alkali Metals in Some Gulf of Mexico Sediments

ABSTRACT The abundance of the alkali metals in 130 samples from the Gulf of Mexico was determined spectrographically. The results show that only a slight enrichment of rubidium with respect to potassium exists in the sediments while there is present a significant enrichment of cesium with respect to both potassium and rubidium. The potassium-sodium ratios indicate that these two elements are present in about the same proportions as in igneous rocks. The lithium abundance is similar to that found in igneous rocks. Thermal analyses suggest that rubidium is enriched with respect to postassium in the illite-rich sediments and that these sediments are relatively low in cesium. That a relatively high lithium content is associated with montmorillonite-rich sediments is also suggested. The alkali metal content of the sediments apparently does not vary systematically with depth below the present sedimentary interface or with distance from shore. In the sediments from the eastern part of the Gulf the distribution of all the alkali metals is similar. The results of the investigation suggest that much of the separation of the alkali metals and the enrichment of one with respect to another may occur during weathering and that the hydrated radii and ionic potential based on the hydrated radii are not the only factors which control the behavior of the alkali metals during the weathering and sedimentary cycles.

The effect of lithium chloride on the electrocardiogram of the isolated perfused heart

Action potentials were recorded simultaneously from the cavity and the epicardium of the ventricle of the isolated perfused heart of the dog and the turtle before and after alteration of the concentrations of the various cations in the perfusate. High concentrations of lithium chloride in the perfusate slowed the cardiac rate, prolonged the S-T interval, and broadened the T waves. The width and contour of the QRS complex were unaltered, but the voltage was decreased. A very high concentration of lithium seemed to affect primarily the automaticity of the turtle heart. Lithium in a concentration of 25.72 meq. per liter or greater counteracted many of the electrocardiographic effects of an excess of potassium; more specifically, lithium shortened the delayed intraventricular conduction time, increased the shortened S-T interval, and again separated the components of electrical activity from the terminal monophasic and diphasic forms of potassium intoxication. Lithium could not substitute for calcium or sodium in the perfusing solution, although lithium tended to counteract the electrocardiographic effects of a moderately low sodium concentration in the perfusate. An excess of calcium in the perfusate caused an increase in the QRS interval, widening of the T wave, a slight increase in the amplitude of the S wave in the epicardial tracing, and atrioventricular dissociation. The absence of calcium from the perfusate prolonged the P-R interval and Q-T interval, without change in the width or contour of the QRS complex, and broadened the T waves.