There is one problem with all of this, though. Typically, alkali metals react explosively with water. As such, blending the two together in normal environments can be exceptionally dangerous.

A reactivity series of metals can be created using the observations of their reactions with oxygen, water and acid. The metals which show the fastest and most violent reactions are the most reactive.

The wide reach of corrosion, a multitrillion-dollar global problem, may someday be narrowed considerably thanks to a new, better approach to predict how metals react with water.

But alkali metals react with water, often violently, which poses a major experimental challenge.

Question. 63 Of the three metals X , Y and Z, X reacts with cold water, Y with hot water and Z with steam only. Identify X, Y and Z and also arrange them in order of increasing reactivity.

Ammonia was later substituted by water, which was originally a risky demonstration since alkali metals typically explode when in contact with water.