(bsymbolrÄ*l´ēsymbolm) [from beryl ], metallic chemical element; symbol Be; at. no. 4; at. wt. 9.01218; m.p. about 1,278°C; b.p. 2,970°C (estimated); sp. gr. 1.85 at 20°C; valence 2. Beryllium is a strong, extremely light, high-melting, silver-gray metal with a close-packed hexagonal crystalline structure. It is an alkaline-earth metal in group IIa of the periodic table. Beryllium is resistant to corrosion; weight for weight, it is stronger than steel, and because of its low density (about 1/3 that of aluminum) it has found extensive use in the aerospace industry.

Beryllium is soluble in hot nitric acid, dilute hydrochloric and sulfuric acids, and sodium hydroxide. Like aluminum and magnesium, which it resembles chemically, it readily forms compounds with other elements; it is not found free in nature. However, like aluminum, it is resistant to oxidation in air, even at a red heat; it is thought to form a protective oxide film that prevents further oxidation. The compounds of beryllium are sweet-tasting and highly toxic; this toxicity has limited the use of beryllium as a rocket fuel, even though it yields more heat on combustion for its weight than any other element.

Beryllium transmits X rays much better than glass or other metals; this property, together with its high melting point, makes it desirable as a window material for high-intensity X-ray tubes. Because beryllium resists attack by liquid sodium metal, it is employed in cooling systems of nuclear reactors that use liquid sodium as the heat-transfer material; because it is a good reflector and absorber of neutrons, it is also used as a shield and as a moderator in nuclear reactors.

The addition of 2% to 3% of beryllium to copper makes a nonmagnetic alloy six times stronger than pure copper. This alloy is used to make nonsparking tools for use in oil refineries and other places where sparks constitute a fire hazard; it is also used for small mechanical parts, such as camera shutters. When beryllium is alloyed with other metals such as aluminum or gold it yields substances with a higher melting point, greater hardness and strength, and lower density than the metal with which it is alloyed.

Beryllium aluminum silicates, especially beryl (of which emerald and aquamarine are varieties), constitute the chief sources of the metal. Although its ores occur widely in North America, Europe, and Africa, the cost of extracting the metal limits its commercial use. Beryllium may be prepared by electrolysis of its fused salts; it is prepared commercially by reduction of the fluoride with magnesium metal.

Beryllium was discovered in 1798 as the oxide beryllia by L. N. Vauquelin, a French chemist. Vauquelin analyzed beryl and emerald at the urging of R. J. Haüy, a French mineralogist, who had noted that their optical properties were identical. Beryllium was first isolated in 1828 independently by F. Wöhler in Germany and W. Bussy in France by fusing beryllium chloride with metallic potassium.

Hey simplex, remember the South Park episode where the kids travel to the Planetirium, only the guy working it couldn't say the "t", plane-irium.

This is the sound I want to make when I say beryllium. Something like, "welcome to the ber-llium thread"

Australia's QRSciences demonstrated another aviation security product using low-frequency radio waves to detect plastic explosives."With our technology we are actually looking at the chemical structure of the atom, ranging from different molecules of nitrogen, chlorine, beryllium, antimony, arsenic and others," said CEO Kevin Russeth."There is no easy way to detect a whole host of explosives. ... I think as time moves on, technologies will be married together to minimize the danger to the public and to secure facilities," said Russeth.The company is working with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to commercialize the device.

The Energy Department recently reversed 50 years of federal policy by declaring that workers injured or killed by weapons plant exposure should be compensated. The agency proposed a minimum lump sum payment of $100,000. The Senate approved a minimum of $200,000, plus medical care for workers suffering from beryllium disease, silicosis or radiation-caused cancers

Clara Harding of Paducah, Kentucky, offered the committee a medal that was presented to her by Secretary Richardson for her husband's service to the nation. "I would like to give this medal to you and ask you and your boss Henry Hyde to hold it for me until this legislation is passed, then you can give it back. If you don't pass it you can keep this medal and hang it on the wall to remind you that this bill was killed. You can call it the Joe Harding Memorial Legislation because it has been killed just like [the] DOE killed my husband." The Energy Department has said it does not know how many of the 600,000 people who worked at weapons plants since World War II have contracted beryllium diseases, silicosis or radiation-linked cancer.

Over time, inertial guidance systems for rockets have incorporated simpler, cheaper, lighter, and more reliable components, as well as concepts such as ring-laser gyros and strapdown technology in which there is no inertial platform required to maintain a fixed position in space. In contrast, the latest U.S. ICBM inertial guidance system is the Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere (AIRS), used on the Peacekeeper missile. It is probably the most accurate inertial measurement unit ever developed and manufactured. The inertial measurement units used on earlier ballistic missiles used an inertial platform mounted on a set of gimbaled axis frames. The AIRS, on the other hand, consists of a beryllium sphere floating in a fluorocarbon fluid within an outer shell, with no gimbals or bearings at all, housing highly accurate gyros and accelerometers. The AIRS is complex, difficult to manufacture, and very expensive.

Definition of Beryllium

Beryllium: A toxic metal found in ores containing other elements that is used in making metal alloys for nuclear reactors and the aerospace industry. Acute exposure to beryllium fumes can cause a severe, sometimes fatal pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs). Chronic overexposure to beryllium is more common and causes a diffuse inflammatory reaction in the lungs resulting in granulomas and fibrosis of the lungs and, in time, increasing shortness of breath. Beryllium poisoning is termed berylliosis.

Type: Term

Pronunciation: ber-il′ē-ŭm
Definitions:
1. A white metal element belonging to the alkaline earths; atomic no. 4., atomic wt. 9.012182.

beryllium granuloma

Type: Term
Definitions:
1. a sarcoid-like granulomatous reaction to exposure to inhaled beryllium, or to skin cuts by fluorescent lamp glass.