Lithium as an investment increased tendency for costlier components to be targeted for replacement by new technologies. Current projections of the global market for lithium-ion batteries range from $26 billion in 2023 ("Navigant Research") to a very optimistic $33 billion in 2019 ("Transparency Market Research"). Lithium metal is an extremely soft, highly reactive, and flammable element. It is most frequently found in deposits such as spodumene and pegmatite minerals, with larger resources in the U.S., Canada, Australia, China, Zimbabwe, and Russia. Lithium possesses a unique chemical profile making it the lightest metal in the periodic table and the least dense solid element. Its atomic
Mercury (element) have indicated that they have even lower boiling points (copernicium being the element below mercury in the periodic table, following the trend of decreasing boiling points down group 12). Upon freezing, the volume of mercury decreases by 3.59% and its density changes from 13.69 g/cm when liquid to 14.184 g/cm when solid. The coefficient of volume expansion is 181.59 × 10 at 0 °C, 181.71 × 10 at 20 °C and 182.50 × 10 at 100 °C (per °C). Solid mercury is malleable and ductile and can be cut with a knife. A complete explanation of mercury's extreme volatility delves