What are the features of Beryllium?« Back to Questions List

Beryllium is a chemical element well known for its ability to improve the physical properties of aluminum, iron, copper nickel etc when added as an alloying agent. When small amount of beryllium is mixed with copper, the resultant alloy becomes six times stringer than copper, the base metal.  The element is a common component in many dental alloys.

The element has an atomic number 4 and is represented with symbol Be. It is the fourth member in the periodic table. Beryllium salt tastes sweet, but is very toxic. The element was initially known as 'glucine' for its flavor and was represented as GI. Glucine means sweetness in Greek.

Beryllium has been in use for thousands of years. However, the credit of discovery of the element rests with Nicolas Louis Vauquellin. He discovered it in emeralds in in 1798. Two scientists are credited for independently isolating berilium from beryl and emeralds respectively. The feats were achieved in 1828 by Friedrich Wohler and Antonie Bussy. Though the presence of Beryllium is identified in more than 100 minerals, extracting the element from them is not an easy task.

Presence of beryllium in the universe is relatively rare. It is present in the sun and the earth in very minute quantity. It is a divalent element and is normally present only in combination with other elements in minerals. Beryl (aquamarine, emerald) and chrysoberyl are two notable gemstones that contain the element. Beryllium, beryl and bertrandite are two major ores of the element. The extraction of beryllium from its compounds is a tedious task.  As a free element, it is a strong, lightweight, steel-gray, and brittle alkaline earth metal. The element does not normally form oxides until it reaches very high temperature.

Beryllium copper alloys are widely used to make strong and hard tools. These tools do not cause sparks when they strike a steel surface. Beryllium metal is famous for its structural qualities like high flexural rigidity, thermal conductivity, thermal stability, and low density. These characteristics make it a highly suitable aerospace material. It is widely used in aircraft components, missiles, spacecraft, and satellites. The low density and low atomic mass makes beryllium relatively transparent to X-rays and other forms of ionizing radiation. This makes it suitable as a common window material for X-ray equipment and components of particle detectors. Beryllium and beryllium oxide are used in thermal management applications too because of the high thermal conductivities. However, the toxic nature of the element causes life-threatening allergic disease called berylliosis in some people.
 

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