 Discovery Information
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| Who: Fredrich Wöhler, A. A. Bussy |
| When: 1798 |
| Where: Germany/France |
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| Name Origin
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| From the mineral beryl. |
| "Beryllium" in different languages. |
|
| Sources
|
| Found mostly in minerals like beryl [AlBe3(Si6O18)] and chrysoberyl (Al2BeO4).
|
| Important mining locations are Brazil, the USA, Madagascar, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia and India. Annual production is round 360 tons. Total world-wide reservers are estimate to be around 400 thousand tons.
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|
| Abundance
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| Universe: 0.001 ppm (by weight) |
| Sun: 0.0001 ppm (by weight) |
| Carbonaceous meteorite: 0.03 ppm |
| Earth's Crust: 2.6 ppm |
| Seawater: |
| Atlantic surface: 8.8 x 10-8 ppm
|
| Atlantic deep: 1.7 x 10-7 ppm
|
| Pacific surface: 3.5 x 10-8 ppm
|
| Pacific deep: 2.2 x 10-7 ppm
|
| Human: |
| 0.4 ppb by weight |
| 0.3 ppb by atoms |
|
| Uses
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| Its ability to absorb large amounts of heat makes it useful in spacecraft, missiles, aircraft, etc. Emeralds are beryl crystals
with chromium traces giving them their green colour. Also used in light weight metal alloys, X-ray tube windows, watch springs and sparkless tools.
|
| Beryllium oxide (BeO) is useful for many applications that require an excellent heat conductor, with high strength and hardness,
with a very high melting point, and that acts as an electrical insulator.
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| Beryllium is also used in the making of gyroscopes, various computer equipment, watch springs and instruments where light-weight,
rigidity and dimensional stability are needed.
|
| The James Webb Space Telescope, will have 18 hexagonal beryllium sections for its mirrors. Because the JWST will face a temperature
of -240 degrees Celsius (30 kelvins), the mirror is made of beryllium, a material capable of handling extreme cold better
than glass. Beryllium contracts and deforms less than glass, and thus remains more uniform, in such temperatures.
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|
| History
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| This element was discovered by Louis Vauquelinin 1798 as the oxide in beryl and in emeralds. Friedrich Wöhler and A. A. Bussy independently isolated the metal in 1828 by reacting potassium and beryllium chloride.
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|
| Notes
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| The speed of sound in beryllium (12,500 m s-1) is greater than in any other element.
|
| Beryllium comes from Greek beryllos, beryl. It has also been called Glucinium or Glucinum from the Greek word glykys which
means "sweet." Beryllium is found in beryl, chrysoberyl (Al2BeO4) and phenakite (Be2SiO4). Aquamarine and emeralds are precious forms of beryl. It has a high melting point for a light metal and is more elastic than steel. It is used in computer parts, gyroscopes and for construction. Beryllium
and its salts are toxic and should be handled with great care. Do not taste it to confirm that it is sweet.
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| Beryllium is an essential constituent of roughly 100 out of about 4000 known minerals. |
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| Hazards
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| Beryllium and its salts are highly toxic substances and carcinogenic.
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