Lithium be cut with a knife. When cut, it possesses a silvery-white color that quickly changes to gray as it oxidizes to lithium oxide. While it has one of the lowest melting points among all metals (180 °C), it has the highest melting and boiling points of the alkali metals. Lithium has a very low density (0.534 g/cm), comparable with pine wood. It is the least dense of all elements that are solids at room temperature; the next lightest solid element (potassium, at 0.862 g/cm) is more than 60% denser. Furthermore, apart from helium and hydrogen, it is less dense than
Non-metallic inclusions has a big influence on the metal properties. Present-day methods of steel and alloy production are unable to attain completely pure metal without any non-metallic inclusions. Inclusions are present in any steel to a greater or lesser extent according to the mixture and conditions of production. Usually the amount of non-metallic inclusions in steel is not higher than 0.1%. However, the number of inclusions in metal is very high because of their extremely small size. Non-metallic inclusions in steel are foreign substances. They disrupt the homogeneity of structure, so their influence on the mechanical and other properties can be considerable.