5 Products Made of Alkali Metal

1. Lithium
a. rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and
electric vehicles
b. some non-rechargeable batteries for things like heart pacemakers, toys and
clocks
c. magnesium-lithium alloy is used for armour plating
d. Aluminium-lithium alloys are used in aircraft, bicycle frames and high-speed
trains.
e. Lithium oxide is used in special glasses and glass ceramics
f. Lithium chloride is one of the most hygroscopic materials known, and is used
in air conditioning and industrial drying systems (as is lithium bromide
2. Sodium
a. Sodium is used to make glass. You know that silicon makes up most of glass.
In the process of making glass sodium is often used as well.
b. The next time you write on a piece of paper you should know that sodium is
used to make that paper. Paper is originally from trees. Before it gets to you a
lot of chemicals are used to get it ready. Sodium is one of the elements used.
c. Sodium and chlorine combine to make salt. If you look at the salt very closely
you can see that they make little crystals. Those crystals look like little cubes.
The shape is partially because of sodium.
d. When your parents send their photographs on film to be developed, the
company uses different liquids to make the pictures appear. Sodium is in
some of those solutions.
e. Sodium is a very important element in fertilizers. Farmers use a lot of fertilizer
to make sure their crops grow well. You parents might even use fertilizers in
their garden.
f. Sodium carbonate (washing soda) is also a useful sodium salt. It is used as a
water softener.
g. Sodium is used as a heat exchanger in some nuclear reactors, and as a
reagent in the chemicals industry.
3. Potassium
a. potassium compounds is in fertilisers
b. Potassium carbonate is used in the manufacture of glass
c. Potassium hydroxide is used to make detergent and liquid soap
d. Potassium chloride is used in pharmaceuticals and saline drips.
e. Potassium is an important element found in many foods like Bananas.
f. As far as individual elements are concerned, 2.4% of the Earth's crust is
made of potassium atoms.
g. Potassium is one of the many elements found in fireworks and pyrotechnics
of all kinds.
h. potassium forms salts so easily, many of the ions in salt water are potassium
ions. You may even find trace amounts in freshwater sources.
 4. Rubidium
a. component of photocells, to remove traces of oxygen from vacuum tubes and
to make special types of glass.
b. Rubidium nitrate is sometimes used in fireworks to give them a purple colour.
c. atomic clocks. But these clocks are used only for very specialized purposes
where very precise time-keeping is important.
5. Cesium
a. a getter in bulbs and evacuated tubes. The bulb must be as free from gases
as possible to work properly. Small amounts of cesium react with any air left
in the bulb. It converts the gas into a solid cesium compound.
b. photoelectric cells, devices for changing sunlight into electrical energy. When
sunlight shines on cesium, it excites or energizes the electrons in cesium
atoms. The excited electrons easily flow away, producing an electric current.
c. atomic clock. An atomic clock is the most precise method now available for
measuring time.
d. special optical glass, as a catalyst promoter, in vacuum tubes and in radiation
monitoring equipment.
6. Francium
a. Francium has no uses, having a half life of only 22 minutes. Then there is no
products also.

Sources:
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/3/lithium
http://www.chem4kids.com/files/elements/011_speak.html
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/11/sodium
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/19/potassium
http://www.chem4kids.com/files/elements/019_speak.html
http://www.chemistryexplained.com/elements/P-T/Rubidium.html
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/37/rubidium
http://www.chemistryexplained.com/elements/A-C/Cesium.html
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/55/caesium
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/87/francium