4 ms·

Sort of off-topic, but why is sodium more abundant than lithium?

• Tade0 6y ago
  Not a chemist, but apparently even in its stable isotopes the nucleus is barely holding together.
• smolder 6y ago
  The stellar processes that result in stable lithium are rare, like supernovas.[1] Another factor in its rarity as a material is that while it's present in a lot of things, it's not present in quantities for economical recovery. 1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/11/14/this-is-why-three-of-the-lightest-elements-are-so-cosmically-rare/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/11/14/this...
  • mehrdadn 6y ago
    Ahh, thanks! So if I understand correctly, it's because its stable isotopes can only be produced in high quantities through fission rather than fusion (otherwise they get destroyed in the same processes).
• Valgrim 6y ago
  Lithium, beryllium and boron are rare because although they are produced by nuclear fusion, they are destroyed by other fusion reactions in the stars. This property is used to distinguish low mass stars and brown dwarfs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_burning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_burning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmological_lithium_problem#Observed_abundance_of_lithium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmological_lithium_problem#O...