Beryllium

Domain	Definitions
Chemistry	Chemical element:atomic number 4. Source: European Union. (references)
Environment	An metal hazardous to human health when inhaled as an airborne pollutant. It is discharged by machine shops, ceramic and propellant plants, and foundries. (references)
Health	An element with the atomic symbol Be, atomic number 4, and atomic weight 9.01218. Short exposure to this element can lead to a type of poisoning known as berylliosis. (references)
Mining	An element belonging to the alkaline earth metals. Symbol, Be. Beryl and bertrandite are the most important commercial sources of the element and its compounds. Aquamarine and emerald are the precious forms of beryl. Used in nonsparking tools, high-speed aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, communications satellites, and X-ray lithography for microminiature integrated circuits, as well as in nuclear reactors and computers.Beryllium and its salts are toxic. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Specialty Definition: Beryllium

Lithium - Beryllium - Boron
Be Mg
	Full table

General

Name, Symbol, Number

Beryllium, Be, 4

Series

Alkaline earth metals

Group, Period, Block

2 (IIA), 2, s

Density, Hardness

1848 kg/m³, 5.5

Appearance

white-gray metallic

Atomic Properties

Atomic weight

9.01218 amu

Atomic radius

112 pm

Covalent radius

90 pm

van der Waals radius

not-known pm

Electron configuration

[He]22s²

e^- 's per energy level

2, 2

Oxidation states (Oxide)

2 (amphoteric)

Crystal structure

Hexagonal

Physical Properties

State of matter

solid (diamagnetic)

Melting point

1551.15 K

Boiling point

3243.15 K

Molar volume

4.85 ×1010^-3 m³/mol

Heat of vaporization

292.40 kJ/mol

Heat of fusion

12.20 kJ/mol

Vapor pressure

4180 Pa

Speed of sound

13000 m/s

Miscellaneous

Electronegativity

1.57 (Pauling scale)

Specific heat capacity

1825 J/kg*K

Electrical conductivity

31.3 10⁶/m ohm

Thermal conductivity

201 W/m*K

1^st ionization potential

899.5 kJ/mol

2^nd ionization potential

1757.1 kJ/mol

3^rd ionization potential

14848.7 kJ/mol

Most Stable Isotopes

iso	NA	half-life	DM	DE MeV	DP
⁷Be	{syn.}	53.12 days	epsilon	0.862	⁷Li
⁹Be	100%	Be is stable with 5 neutrons
¹⁰Be	trace	1.51×10⁶y	beta^-	0.556	¹⁰B

SI units & STP are used except where noted.

Beryllium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Be and atomic number 4. A toxic bivalent element, Beryllium is a steel grey, strong, light-weight yet brittle, alkaline earth metal, that is primarily used as a hardening agent in alloys (most notably, beryllium copper).

Notable Characteristics

Beryllium has one of the highest melting points of the light metals. The modulus of elasticity of this light metal is approximately 1/3 greater than that of steel. It has excellent thermal conductivity, is nonmagnetic and resists attack by concentrated nitric acid. It is highly permeable to X-rays, and neutrons are liberated when it is hit by alpha particles, as from radium or polonium (about 30 neutrons/million alpha particles). At standard temperature and pressures beryllium resists oxidation when exposed to air (although its ability to scratch glass is probably due to the formation of a thin layer of the oxide).

Applications

Beryllium is used as an alloying agent in the production of beryllium copper (Be has the ability to absorb large amounts of heat). Beryllium-copper alloys are used in a wide variety of applications because of their electrical and thermal conductivity, high strength and hardness, nonmagnetic properties, along with good corrosion and fatigue resistance. These applications include that making of: spot-welding electrodes, springs, non-sparking tools and electrical contacts.
Due to their stiffness, light weight, and dimensional stability over a wide temperature range, beryllium-copper alloys are also used in the defense and aerospace industries as light-weight structural materials in high-speed aircraft, missiles, space vehicles and communication satellites.
Thin sheets of beryllium foil are used with X-ray detection diagnostics to filter out visible light and allow only X-rays to be detected.
In the field of X-ray lithography beryllium is being used for the reproduction of microscopic integrated circuits.
Because it has a low thermal neutron absorption cross section, the nuclear power industry uses this metal in nuclear reactors as a neutron reflector and moderator.
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.
Beryllium oxide 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.
Beryllium compounds were once used in fluorescent lighting tubes, but this use was discontinued because of berylliosis in the workers manufacturing the tubes (see below).

History

The name beryllium comes from the Greek beryllos, beryl. At one time beryllium was referred to as glucinium (from Greek glykys, sweet), due to the sweet taste of its salts. This element was discovered by Vauquelin in 1798 as the oxide in beryl and in emeralds. Friedrich Wöhler and A. A. Bussy independently isolatated the metal in 1828 by reacting potassium on beryllium chloride.

Occurrence

Beryllium is found in 30 different minerals, the most important of which are bertrandite, beryl, chrysoberyl, and phenacite. Precious forms of beryl are Aquamarine and emerald. The most important commercial sources of Beryllium and its compounds are beryl and bertrandite. Currently, most production of this metal is accomplished by reducing beryllium fluoride with magnesium metal. Beryllium metal did not become readily available until 1957.
Isolation
BeF₂ + Mg --> MgF₂ + Be

Isotopes

Beryllium has only one stable isotope, Be-9. Cosmogenic beryllium (Be-10) is produced in the atmosphere by cosmic ray spallation of oxygen and nitrogen. Because beryllium tends to exist in solution at pH levels less than about 5.5 (and most rainwater has a pH less than 5), it will enter into solution and be transported to the Earth's surface via rainwater. As the precipitation quickly becomes more alkaline, Be drops out of solution. Cosmogenic Be-10 thereby accumulates at the soil surface, where its relatively long half-life (1.5 million years) permits a long residence time before decaying to B-10 (boron). Be-10 and its daughter products have been used to examine soil erosion, soil formation from regolith, the development of lateritic soils, as well as variations in solar activity and the age of ice cores.

The fact that Be-7 and Be-8 are unstable has profound cosmological consequences as it means that elements heavier than beryllium could not be produced by nuclear fusion in the big bang. Moreover the nuclear energy levels of Beryllium-8 are set up so that carbon can be produced within stars thus making life possible. (See triple-alpha process and big bang nucleosynthesis).

Precautions

Beryllium and its salts are toxic substances and potentially carcinogenic. Chronic berylliosis is a pulmonary and systemic granulomatous disease caused by exposure to beryllium. Acute beryllium disease in the form of chemical pneumonitis was first reported in Europe in 1933 and in the United States in 1943. Cases of chronic berylliosis were first described in 1946 among workers in plants manufacturing fluorescent lamps in Massachusetts. Chronic berylliosis resembles sarcoidosis in many respects, and the differential diagnosis is often difficult.

Although the use of beryllium compounds in fluorescent lighting tubes was discontinued in 1949, potential for exposure to beryllium exists in the nuclear and aerospace industries and in the refining of beryllium metal and melting of beryllium-containing alloys, the manufacturing of electronic devices, and the handling of other beryllium-containing material.

Early researchers tasted beryllium and its various compounds for sweetness in order to verify its presence. Modern diagnostic equipment no longer necessitates this highly risky procedure and no attempt should be made to ingest this substance. Beryllium and its compounds should be handled with great care and special precautions must be taken when carrying out any activity which could result in the release of beryllium dust (lung cancer is a possible result of prolonged exposure to beryllium laden dust).

This substance can be handled safely if certain procedures are followed. No attempt should be made to work with beryllium before familiarization with correct handling procedures.

Health effects

Beryllium can be harmful if you breathe it. The effects depend on how much you are exposed to and for how long. If beryllium air levels are high enough (greater than 1000 μg/m³), an acute condition can result. This condition resembles pneumonia and is called acute beryllium disease. Occupational and community air standards are effective in preventing most acute lung damage.

Some people (1-15%) become sensitive to beryllium. These individuals may develop an inflammatory reaction in the respiratory system. This condition is called chronic beryllium disease (CBD), and can occur many years after exposure to higher than normal levels of beryllium (greater than 0.2 μg/m³). This disease can make you feel weak and tired, and can cause difficulty in breathing. It can also result in anorexia, weight loss, and may also lead to right side heart enlargement and heart disease in advanced cases. Some people who are sensitized to beryllium may not have any symptoms. The general population is unlikely to develop acute or chronic beryllium disease because ambient air levels of beryllium are normally very low (0.00003-0.0002 μg/m³).

Swallowing beryllium has not been reported to cause effects in humans because very little beryllium is absorbed from the stomach and intestines. Ulcers have been seen in dogs ingesting beryllium in the diet. Beryllium contact with skin that has been scraped or cut may cause rashes or ulcers.

Long term exposure to beryllium can increase the risk of developing lung cancer in people.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have determined that beryllium is a human carcinogen. The US Environmental Protection Agency has determined that beryllium is a probable human carcinogen. the EPA has estimated that lifetime exposure to 0.04 μg/m³ beryllium can result in a one in a thousand chance of developing cancer.

There are no studies on the health effects of children exposed to beryllium. It is likely that the health effects seen in children exposed to beryllium will be similar to the effects seen in adults. We do not know whether children differ from adults in their susceptibility to beryllium.

We do not know if exposure to beryllium will result in birth defects or other developmental effects in people. The studies on developmental effects in animals are not conclusive.

Beryllium can be measured in the urine and blood. The amount of beryllium in blood or urine may not indicate how much or how recently you were exposed. Beryllium levels can also be measured in lung and skin samples. These tests are not usually available at your doctor's office, but your doctor can send the samples to a laboratory that can perform the tests.

Another blood test, the blood beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT), identifies beryllium sensitization and has predictive value for CBD.

Typical levels of beryllium that industries may release into the air are of the order of 0.01 μg/m³, averaged over a 30-day period, or 2 μg/m³ of workroom air for an 8-hour work shift.

External Links

Modern Usage: Beryllium

Commercial Usage: Beryllium

Domain	Title
References	The World Market for Unwrought Beryllium, Beryllium Waste and Scrap, and Beryllium Powders: A 2004 Global Trade Perspective (reference) (more reference examples)

Books	Be Beryllium (reference) Beryllium (1160106) (reference) Beryllium Health & Safety Guide (reference) Beryllium science and technology (reference) Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry II: Lithium, Beryllium and Boron Groups (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Non-Fiction Usage: Beryllium

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		Berylliosis - A lung disease resulting from exposure to beryllium metal. (references)
		These include such granulomatous diseases as berylliosis (a disease resulting from exposure to beryllium metal), tuberculosis, farmer's lung disease (hypersensitivity pneumonitis), fungal infections, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever, and cancer of the lymph nodes (lymphoma). (references)
Economic History	Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan is also a large producer of beryllium, tantalum, barite, uranium, cadmium, and arsenic. (references)
	Brazil	Deposits of nickel, tin, chromite, bauxite, beryllium, copper, lead, tungsten, zinc, gold, and other minerals are exploited. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Usage Frequency: Beryllium

Expression: Beryllium

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Beryllium

Modern Translations: Beryllium

Language		Translations for "beryllium"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		berilium. (various references)

Arabic		‏البيريليوم عنصر فلزي. (various references)

Bulgarian		берилий (glucinium). (various references)

Chinese		鋍 , �"�, 鈹 . (various references)

Danish		beryllium. (various references)

Dutch		beryllium. (various references)

Esperanto		berilio. (various references)

Finnish		beryllium. (various references)

French		béryllium. (various references)

German		Beryllium, Berryllium. (various references)

Greek		βηρύλλιο (glucinium). (various references)

Hungarian		berillium (glucinium, glucinum). (various references)

Italian		berillio. (various references)

Japanese Kanji		ベ�"ー箪笥 (baby doll, balcony, belly dance, belly roll, Beloruss, small-sized wardrobe, verandah, verification card, verifier, verify, volume). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		ベリリウ� . (various references)

Pig Latin		erylliumbay

Portuguese		berílio (beryl, glucose). (various references)

Russian		бериллий (glucinium). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		berilijum (glucinium). (various references)

Spanish		berilio (beryl). (various references)

Swedish		beryllium. (various references)

Turkish		berilyum. (various references)

Ukranian		берилій (glucinium, glucinum). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Derivations & Misspellings: Beryllium

Rhyming with "Beryllium"

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "beryllium" (pronounced beri"lēum)
5	-i" l ē u m	psyllium.
4	-l ē u m	gallium, helium, linoleum, nobelium, petroleum, thallium.
3	-ē u m	alluvium, ammonium, aquarium, atrium, auditorium, axiom, bacterium, barium, cadmium, calcium, cesium, chromium, colloquium, compendium, condominium, consortium, crematorium, delirium, deuterium, disequilibrium, emporium, equilibrium, europium, fermium, geranium, gonium, gymnasium, hafnium, harmonium, Herbarium, holmium, honorarium, idiom, indium, iridium, lawrencium, lithium, magnesium, medium, millennium, minium, moratorium, myocardium, nephridium, neptunium, niobium, opium, opprobrium, osmium, palladium, pandemonium, paramecium, planetarium, Plasmodium, plutonium, podium, polonium, potassium, premium, presidium, promethium, protium, radium, requiem, rhodium, selenium, sodium, stadium, strontium, superpremium, symposium, tedium, tellurium, thorium, titanium, tritium, uranium, vanadium, yttrium, zirconium.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Anagrams: Beryllium

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "b-e-i-l-l-m-r-u-y"
	-1 letter: limberly.
	-2 letters: brulyie, bullier, burlily.
	-3 letters: biller, blimey, bluely, burley, erbium, illume, imbrue, limber, lumber, miller, muller, mulley, rebill, rumble, rumbly.
	-4 letters: belly, beryl, billy, birle, blimy, bluer, bluey, blume, brill, brume, bully, burly, buyer, ileum, iller, imbue, lemur, libel, liber, limby, limey, miler, mille, muley, rebuy, riley, rille, ruble, umbel, umber.
	-5 letters: bell, berm.
	Words containing the letters "b-e-i-l-l-m-r-u-y"
	+1 letter: berylliums.
	+4 letters: bimolecularly.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Alternative Orthography: Beryllium

Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

42 65 72 79 6C 6C 69 75 6D

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

⁼

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

-... . .-. -.--. .-.. .-.. .. ..- --

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01000010 01100101 01110010 01111001 01101100 01101100 01101001 01110101 01101101

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#66 &#101 &#114 &#121 &#108 &#108 &#105 &#117 &#109

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0042 0065 0072 0079 006C 006C 0069 0075 006D

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	Our beryllium sphere is is wire with plaster around it. And our digital conveyor is it's Christmas tree lights. (Galaxy Quest; writing credit: David Howard)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	100%	22	74,468

Expressions using "beryllium": beryllium bronze ♦ beryllium disease ♦ beryllium ore ♦ chronic beryllium disease. Additional references.
Hypenated Usage
	Ending with "beryllium": germanium-beryllium.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
beryllium	112	aluminum beryllium	3
beryllium copper	41	beryllium machining	2
chronic beryllium disease	11	beryllium tube	2
beryllium disease	10	beryllium market metal mineral overview world	2
beryllium oxide	7	beryllium price	2
beryllium exposure	5	beryllium ray x	2
beryllium conference	5	beryllium copper msds	2
beryllium lung disease	3	beryllium hydride	2
beryllium picture	3	beryllium element	2
beryllium metal	3	beryllium spelling	2
beryllium copper wire	3	copper beryllium alloy	2
beryllium poisoning	3	beryllium copper sheet	2
beryllium ceramics oxide	3	beryllium saleen	2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "beryllium": berylliums. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Beryllium" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Berilia, berillium, berrylium, beryillium, berylium, berylluim, serpyllium, serpyllum. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Beryllium

Definition: Beryllium

Beryllium

Noun

Specialty Definitions: Beryllium

Specialty Definition: Beryllium

History

Synonyms: Beryllium

Crosswords: Beryllium

Modern Usage: Beryllium

Screenplays

Commercial Usage: Beryllium

References

Books

Non-Fiction Usage: Beryllium

Usage Frequency: Beryllium

Expression: Beryllium

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Beryllium

beryllium

aluminum beryllium

beryllium copper

beryllium machining

chronic beryllium disease

beryllium tube

beryllium disease

beryllium market metal mineral overview world

beryllium oxide

beryllium price

beryllium exposure

beryllium ray x

beryllium conference

beryllium copper msds

beryllium lung disease

beryllium hydride

beryllium picture

beryllium element

beryllium metal

beryllium spelling

beryllium copper wire

copper beryllium alloy

beryllium poisoning

beryllium copper sheet

beryllium ceramics oxide

beryllium saleen

Modern Translations: Beryllium

Albanian

Arabic

Bulgarian

Chinese

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Hungarian

Italian

Japanese Kanji

Japanese Katakana

Pig Latin

Portuguese

Russian

Serbo-Croatian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Ukranian

Derivations & Misspellings: Beryllium

Derivations

Misspellings

Rhyming with "Beryllium"

Anagrams: Beryllium

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Alternative Orthography: Beryllium

42 65 72 79 6C 6C 69 75 6D

-... . .-. -.--. .-.. .-.. .. ..- --

01000010 01100101 01110010 01111001 01101100 01101100 01101001 01110101 01101101

&#66 &#101 &#114 &#121 &#108 &#108 &#105 &#117 &#109

0042 0065 0072 0079 006C 006C 0069 0075 006D