Beryllium (pronounced /bəˈrɪliəm/, bə-RIL-ee-əm) is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4.
A bivalent element, beryllium is found naturally only combined with other elements in minerals. Notable gemstones which contain beryllium include Beryl (aquamarines and emeralds) and Chrysoberyl (Alexandrite and Cat's eye). The free element is a steel-grey, strong, lightweight brittle alkaline earth metal. It is primarily used as a har...
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Beryllium (pronounced /bəˈrɪliəm/, bə-RIL-ee-əm) is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4.
A bivalent element, beryllium is found naturally only combined with other elements in minerals. Notable gemstones which contain beryllium include Beryl (aquamarines and emeralds) and Chrysoberyl (Alexandrite and Cat's eye). The free element is a steel-grey, strong, lightweight brittle alkaline earth metal. It is primarily used as a hardening agent in alloys, notably beryllium copper. Structurally, beryllium's very low density (1.85 times that of water), high melting point (1278 °C), high temperature stability, and low coefficient of thermal expansion, make it in many ways an ideal aerospace material, and it has been used in rocket nozzles and is a significant component of planned space telescopes. Because of its relatively high transparency to X-rays and other ionizing radiation types, beryllium also has a number of uses as filters and windows for radiation and particle...
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