Several properties account for beryllium metal's considerable value in modern industry. It has a very high stiffness to weight ratio and low density and it has the strength of steel without steel's weight. It also has a low coefficient of thermal expansion, has an unusually high melting point and has good thermal and electrical conductive properties. Also, alloys containing beryllium are corrosive resistant and small amounts of beryllium in an alloy gives this alloy a higher resistance to metal fatigue. These properties make the beryllium metal very useful in the aerospace, nuclear power, and electronics industries, along with the automobile and computers industries. (If you weren't reading this on the web, this is where you would be turning to figure 1)
|