beryllium

Beryllium is a steel gray and hard metal that is brittle at room temperature and has a close-packed hexagonal crystal structure.{{cite book

| others=trans. rev. Eagleson, Mary

| editor1-first=Hans-Dieter | editor1-last=Jakubke

| editor2-first=Hans | editor2-last=Jeschkeit

| title=Concise Encyclopedia Chemistry

| publisher=Walter de Gruyter

| location=Berlin

| date=1994}} It has exceptional stiffness (Young's modulus 287 GPa) and a melting point of 1287 °C. The modulus of elasticity of beryllium is approximately 35% greater than that of steel. The combination of this modulus and a relatively low density results in an unusually fast sound conduction speed in beryllium – about 12.9 km/s at ambient conditions.

Among all metals, beryllium dissipates the most heat per unit weight, with both high specific heat ({{val|1925|u=J·kg⁻¹·K⁻¹}}) and thermal conductivity ({{val|216|u=W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹}}).

Beryllium's conductivity and relatively low coefficient of linear thermal expansion (11.4 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹), make it uniquely stable under extreme temperature differences.{{Cite book| title=Landolt-Börnstein – Group VIII Advanced Materials and Technologies: Powder Metallurgy Data. Refractory, Hard and Intermetallic Materials| chapter=11 Beryllium|volume=2A1| doi=10.1007/10689123_36| isbn=978-3-540-42942-5| pages=667–677| editor=Beiss, P. |author=Behrens, V.|date=2003| publisher=Springer| location=Berlin| series=Landolt-Börnstein - Group VIII Advanced Materials and Technologies}}{{rp|11.1}}

Naturally occurring beryllium, save for slight contamination by the radioisotopes created by cosmic rays, is isotopically pure beryllium-9, which has a nuclear spin of {{sfrac|3|2}}⁻.{{NUBASE2020|ref}} The inelastic scattering cross section of beryllium increases with relation to neutron energy,{{Cite journal |last1=Marion |first1=J. B. |last2=Levin |first2=J. S. |last3=Cranberg |first3=L. |date=1959-06-15 |title=Elastic and Nonelastic Neutron Cross Sections for Beryllium |url=https://journals.aps.org/pr/abstract/10.1103/PhysRev.114.1584 |journal=Physical Review |volume=114 |issue=6 |pages=1584–1589 |doi=10.1103/PhysRev.114.1584|bibcode=1959PhRv..114.1584M }} allowing for significant slowing of higher-energy neutrons.{{Cite journal |last1=Kothari |first1=L. S. |last2=Singwi |first2=K. S. |date=1957-01-01 |title=Slowing down of neutrons in beryllium from 1·44 eV to thermal energy |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0891391957900335 |journal=Journal of Nuclear Energy (1954) |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=342–356 |doi=10.1016/0891-3919(57)90033-5 |issn=0891-3919}} Therefore, it works as a neutron reflector and neutron moderator; the exact strength of neutron slowing strongly depends on the purity and size of the crystallites in the material.{{Cite journal |last1=DiJulio |first1=Douglas D. |last2=Lee |first2=Yong Joong |last3=Muhrer |first3=Gunter |date=2020-10-20 |title=Impact of crystallite size on the performance of a beryllium reflector |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3233/JNR-190135 |journal=Journal of Neutron Research |language=en |volume=22 |issue=2–3 |pages=275–279 |doi=10.3233/JNR-190135 |issn=1023-8166|arxiv=1912.03039 }}

The single primordial beryllium isotope ⁹Be also undergoes a (n,2n) neutron reaction with neutron energies over about 1.9 MeV, to produce ⁸Be, which almost immediately breaks into two alpha particles. Thus, for high-energy neutrons, beryllium is a neutron multiplier, releasing more neutrons than it absorbs. This nuclear reaction is:

:{{nuclide|Beryllium|9}} + n → 2 {{nuclide|Helium|4}} + 2 n

Neutrons are liberated when beryllium nuclei are struck by energetic alpha particles producing the nuclear reaction

:{{nuclide|Beryllium|9}} + {{nuclide|Helium|4}} → {{nuclide|Carbon|12}} + n

where {{nuclide|Helium|4}} is an alpha particle and {{nuclide|Carbon|12}} is a carbon-12 nucleus.{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCnUN45cL1cC&pg=PA239|page=239|chapter=Nuclear Properties|title=Beryllium its Metallurgy and Properties|publisher=University of California Press|first=Henry H.|last=Hausner|date=1965|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727101256/https://books.google.com/books?id=FCnUN45cL1cC&pg=PA239|url-status=live}}

Beryllium also releases neutrons under bombardment by gamma rays. Thus, natural beryllium bombarded either by alphas or gammas from a suitable radioisotope is a key component of most radioisotope-powered nuclear reaction neutron sources for the laboratory production of free neutrons.{{Cite web |date=October 13, 2010 |title=Neutron Sources |url=https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ml1122/ML11229A704.pdf |access-date=March 5, 2025 |website=Nuclear Regulatory Commission}}{{Cite thesis |last=Halstead |first=Matthew R. |title=Characterization of the Energy Spectrum at the Indiana University NREP Neutron Source |date=March 2011 |access-date=5 March 2025 |publisher=Air Force Institute of Technology |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235029687}}

Small amounts of tritium are liberated when {{nuclide|Beryllium|9}} nuclei absorb low energy neutrons in the three-step nuclear reaction

:{{nuclide|Beryllium|9}} + n → {{nuclide|Helium|4}} + {{nuclide|Helium|6}},    {{nuclide|Helium|6}} → {{nuclide|Lithium|6}} + β⁻,    {{nuclide|Lithium|6}} + n → {{nuclide|Helium|4}} + {{nuclide|Hydrogen|3}}

{{nuclide|Helium|6}} has a half-life of only 0.8 seconds, β⁻ is an electron, and {{nuclide|Lithium|6}} has a high neutron absorption cross section. Tritium is a radioisotope of concern in nuclear reactor waste streams.{{cite web|last1=Tomberlin|first1=T. A.|title=Beryllium – A Unique Material in Nuclear Applications|url=https://inldigitallibrary.inl.gov/sti/2808485.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222143703/https://inldigitallibrary.inl.gov/sti/2808485.pdf|archive-date=22 December 2015|website=Idaho National Laboratory|publisher=Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory|date=15 November 2004}}

As a metal, beryllium is transparent or translucent to most wavelengths of X-rays and gamma rays, making it useful for the output windows of X-ray tubes and other such apparatus.{{Cite web|title=About Beryllium|url=https://www.energy.gov/ehss/about-beryllium|access-date=2021-12-22|publisher=US Department of Energy|archive-date=22 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222222822/https://www.energy.gov/ehss/about-beryllium|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Isotopes of beryllium}}

Both stable and unstable isotopes of beryllium are created in stars, but the radioisotopes do not last long. It is believed that the beryllium in the universe was created in the interstellar medium when cosmic rays induced fission in heavier elements found in interstellar gas and dust, a process called cosmic ray spallation.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILQ7sTrRixMC&pg=PA172|title=Physics: 1981–1990|author=Ekspong, G.|publisher=World Scientific|date=1992|pages=172 ff|isbn=978-981-02-0729-8|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727101241/https://books.google.com/books?id=ILQ7sTrRixMC&pg=PA172|url-status=live}}{{cite journal

|title= Beryllium in main-sequence stars

|author= Boesgaard, A. M.

|journal=Astrophysical Journal

|volume=210

|date=December 1, 1976

|pages= 466–474

|bibcode=1976ApJ...210..466B

|doi=10.1086/154849}} Natural beryllium is solely made up of the stable isotope beryllium-9. Beryllium is the only monoisotopic element with an even atomic number.

About one billionth ({{val|e=-9}}) of the primordial atoms created in the Big Bang nucleosynthesis were ⁷Be. This is a consequence of the low density of matter when the temperature of the universe cooled enough for small nuclei to be stable. Creating such nuclei require nuclear collisions that are rare at low density.{{Cite book |last=Peacock |first=J. A. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9780511804533/type/book |title=Cosmological Physics |date=1998-12-28 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-41072-4 |edition=1 |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511804533}}{{rp|297}} ⁷Be is unstable and decays by electron capture into ⁷Li with a half-life of 53 days, but in the early universe this decay channel was unavailable due to atoms being fully ionized. The conversion of ⁷Be to Li was only complete near the time of recombination.{{Cite journal |last1=Cyburt |first1=Richard H. |last2=Fields |first2=Brian D. |last3=Olive |first3=Keith A. |last4=Yeh |first4=Tsung-Han |date=2016-02-23 |title=Big bang nucleosynthesis: Present status |url=https://journals.aps.org/rmp/abstract/10.1103/RevModPhys.88.015004 |journal=Reviews of Modern Physics |volume=88 |issue=1 |pages=015004 |doi=10.1103/RevModPhys.88.015004|arxiv=1505.01076 |bibcode=2016RvMP...88a5004C }}

The isotope ⁷Be (half-life 53 days) is also a cosmogenic nuclide, and also shows an atmospheric abundance inversely proportional to solar activity.{{cite journal | last1=Piñero García | first1=F. | last2=Ferro García | first2=M.A. | last3=Azahra | first3=M. | title=7Be behaviour in the atmosphere of the city of Granada January 2005 to December 2009 | journal=Atmospheric Environment | volume=47 | date=2012 | doi=10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.11.034 | pages=84–91}}

The 2s electrons of beryllium may contribute to chemical bonding. Therefore, when ⁷Be decays by L-electron capture, it does so by taking electrons from its atomic orbitals that may be participating in bonding. This makes its decay rate dependent to a measurable degree upon its chemical surroundings – a rare occurrence in nuclear decay.{{Cite web|url=http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/ParticleAndNuclear/decay_rates.html|title=How to Change Nuclear Decay Rates|first=Bill|last=Johnson|publisher=University of California, Riverside|access-date=30 March 2008|date=1993|archive-date=29 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629231941/http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/ParticleAndNuclear/decay_rates.html|url-status=live}}

⁸Be is unstable but has a ground state resonance with an important role in the

triple-alpha process in helium-fueled stars. As first proposed by

British astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle based solely on astrophysical analysis, the energy levels of ⁸Be and ¹²C allow carbon nucleosynthesis by increasing the contact time for two of the three alpha particles in the carbon production process. The main carbon producing reaction in the universe is

$$^4\backslash textrm\{He\}\backslash \; +\backslash \; ^8\backslash textrm\{Be\}\; \backslash rightarrow\backslash \; ^\{12\}\backslash textrm\{C\}\; +\; \backslash gamma$$

where ⁴He is an alpha particle.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PXGWGnPPo0gC&pg=PA223|page=223|title=Supernovae and nucleosynthesis|author=Arnett, David|publisher=Princeton University Press|date=1996|isbn=978-0-691-01147-9|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727094634/https://books.google.com/books?id=PXGWGnPPo0gC&pg=PA223|url-status=live}}

File:Solar Activity Proxies.png

Radioactive cosmogenic ¹⁰Be is produced in the atmosphere of the Earth by the cosmic ray spallation of oxygen.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=56}} ¹⁰Be accumulates at the soil surface, where its relatively long half-life (1.36 million years) permits a long residence time before decaying to boron-10. Thus, ¹⁰Be and its daughter products are used to examine natural soil erosion, soil formation and the development of lateritic soils, and as a proxy for measurement of the variations in solar activity and the age of ice cores.{{cite web|url=http://web.sahra.arizona.edu/programs/isotopes/beryllium.html|title=Beryllium: Isotopes and Hydrology|publisher=University of Arizona, Tucson|access-date=10 April 2011|archive-date=26 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526120156/http://web.sahra.arizona.edu/programs/isotopes/beryllium.html|url-status=live}} The production of ¹⁰Be is inversely proportional to solar activity, because increased solar wind during periods of high solar activity decreases the flux of galactic cosmic rays that reach the Earth.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=56}} Nuclear explosions also form ¹⁰Be by the reaction of fast neutrons with ¹³C in the carbon dioxide in air. This is one of the indicators of past activity at nuclear weapon test sites.{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.jenvrad.2007.07.016|date=Feb 2008|author=Whitehead, N|author2=Endo, S|author3=Tanaka, K|author4=Takatsuji, T|author5=Hoshi, M|author6=Fukutani, S|author7=Ditchburn, Rg|author8=Zondervan, A|title=A preliminary study on the use of (10)Be in forensic radioecology of nuclear explosion sites|volume=99|issue=2|pages=260–70 |pmid=17904707|journal=Journal of Environmental Radioactivity}}

The exotic isotopes ¹¹Be and ¹⁴Be are known to exhibit a nuclear halo. This phenomenon can be understood as the nuclei of ¹¹Be and ¹⁴Be have, respectively, 1 and 4 neutrons orbiting substantially outside the expected nuclear radius.{{Cite journal|doi=10.1146/annurev.ns.45.120195.003111|doi-access=free|title=Nuclear Halos|date=1995|author=Hansen, P. G.|author2=Jensen, A. S.|author3=Jonson, B.|journal=Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science|volume=45|issue=1|pages=591–634|bibcode=1995ARNPS..45..591H}}

File:Beryllium OreUSGOV.jpg for scale]]

File:Beryl-130023.jpg is a naturally occurring compound of beryllium.]]

Beryllium is found in over 100 minerals,{{Cite web|url=https://www.mindat.org/chemsearch.php?cform_is_valid=1&inc=Be,&exc=&sub=Search+for+Minerals&cf_pager_page=1|title=Search Minerals By Chemistry|website=www.mindat.org|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=6 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806100908/https://www.mindat.org/chemsearch.php?cform_is_valid=1&inc=Be%2C&exc=&sub=Search+for+Minerals&cf_pager_page=1|url-status=live}} but most are uncommon to rare. The more common beryllium containing minerals include: bertrandite ({{chem2|Be4Si2O7(OH)2}}), beryl ({{chem2|Al2Be3Si6O18}}), chrysoberyl ({{chem2|Al2BeO4}}) and phenakite ({{chem2|Be2SiO4}}). Precious forms of beryl are aquamarine, red beryl and emerald.{{cite book|chapter=Sources of Beryllium|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-GbhmSfyeYC&pg=PA20|pages=20–26|isbn=978-0-87170-721-5|title=Beryllium chemistry and processing|author1=Walsh, Kenneth A|date=2009| publisher=ASM International |access-date=5 January 2016|archive-date=13 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513053755/https://books.google.com/books?id=3-GbhmSfyeYC&pg=PA20|url-status=live}}{{cite book |author=Phillip Sabey |chapter=Distribution of major deposits|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zNicdkuulE4C&pg=PA265|pages=265–269|isbn=978-0-87335-233-8|title=Industrial minerals & rocks: commodities, markets, and uses |editor=Jessica Elzea Kogel |editor2=Nikhil C. Trivedi |editor3=James M. Barker |editor4=Stanley T. Krukowski |date=5 March 2006|access-date=5 January 2016}}

The green color in gem-quality forms of beryl comes from varying amounts of chromium (about 2% for emerald).{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=58}}

The two main ores of beryllium, beryl and bertrandite, are found in Argentina, Brazil, India, Madagascar, Russia and the United States.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=58}} Total world reserves of beryllium ore are greater than 400,000 tonnes.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=58}}

The Sun has a concentration of 0.1 parts per billion (ppb) of beryllium.{{cite web |url=http://www.webelements.com/periodicity/abundance_sun/ |title=Abundance in the sun |work=Mark Winter, The University of Sheffield and WebElements Ltd, UK |publisher=WebElements |access-date=6 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827013726/http://webelements.com/periodicity/abundance_sun/ |archive-date=27 August 2011 }} Beryllium has a concentration of 2 to 6 parts per million (ppm) in the Earth's crust and is the 47th most abundant element.{{cite book

| editor1-last=O'Neil | editor1-first=Marydale J.

| editor2-last=Heckelman | editor2-first=Patricia E.

| editor3-last=Roman | editor3-first=Cherie B.

| title=The Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals

| edition=14th

| publisher=Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc.

| location=Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA

| date=2006

| isbn=978-0-911910-00-1}}{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=59}} It is most concentrated in the soils at 6 ppm.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=59}} Trace amounts of ⁹Be are found in the Earth's atmosphere.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=59}} The concentration of beryllium in sea water is 0.2–0.6 parts per trillion.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=59}}{{cite web |url=http://www.webelements.com/periodicity/abundance_seawater/ |title=Abundance in oceans |work=Mark Winter, The University of Sheffield and WebElements Ltd, UK |publisher=WebElements |access-date=6 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805145627/http://www.webelements.com/periodicity/abundance_seawater/ |archive-date=5 August 2011 }} In stream water, however, beryllium is more abundant with a concentration of 0.1 ppb.{{cite web |url=http://www.webelements.com/periodicity/abundance_stream/ |title=Abundance in stream water |work=Mark Winter, The University of Sheffield and WebElements Ltd, UK |publisher=WebElements |access-date=6 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804233559/http://www.webelements.com/periodicity/abundance_stream/ |archive-date=4 August 2011 }}

The extraction of beryllium from its compounds is a difficult process due to its high affinity for oxygen at elevated temperatures, and its ability to reduce water when its oxide film is removed. Currently the United States, China and Kazakhstan are the only three countries involved in the industrial-scale extraction of beryllium.{{cite web |url=https://beryllium.com/About-Beryllium/Sources%20of%20Beryllium.aspx |title=Sources of Beryllium |publisher=Materion Corporation |access-date=23 December 2016 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224032844/https://beryllium.com/About-Beryllium/Sources%20of%20Beryllium.aspx |url-status=live }} Kazakhstan produces beryllium from a concentrate stockpiled before the breakup of the Soviet Union around 1991. This resource had become nearly depleted by mid-2010s.[https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/prd-wret/assets/palladium/production/mineral-pubs/beryllium/myb1-2016-beryl.pdf "Beryllim"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703215605/https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/prd-wret/assets/palladium/production/mineral-pubs/beryllium/myb1-2016-beryl.pdf |date=3 July 2021 }} in 2016 Minerals Yearbook. USGS (September 2018).

Production of beryllium in Russia was halted in 1997, and is planned to be resumed in the 2020s.[https://tass.ru/ural-news/6431308 Уральский производитель изумрудов планирует выпускать стратегический металл бериллий] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011032850/https://tass.ru/ural-news/6431308 |date=11 October 2021 }}. TASS.ru (15 May 2019){{cite web |url=http://www.eurasianbusinessbriefing.com/russia-restarts-beryllium-production-after-20-years/ |title=Russia restarts beryllium production after 20 years |date=20 February 2015 |publisher=Eurasian Business Briefing |access-date=22 February 2018 |archive-date=31 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731154457/http://www.eurasianbusinessbriefing.com/russia-restarts-beryllium-production-after-20-years/ |url-status=live }}

Image:Beryllium (Be).jpg

Beryllium is most commonly extracted from the mineral beryl, which is either sintered using an extraction agent or melted into a soluble mixture. The sintering process involves mixing beryl with sodium fluorosilicate and soda at {{convert|770|C|F}} to form sodium fluoroberyllate, aluminium oxide and silicon dioxide. Beryllium hydroxide is precipitated from a solution of sodium fluoroberyllate and sodium hydroxide in water. The extraction of beryllium using the melt method involves grinding beryl into a powder and heating it to {{convert|1650|C|F}}. The melt is quickly cooled with water and then reheated {{convert|250|to|300|C|F}} in concentrated sulfuric acid, mostly yielding beryllium sulfate and aluminium sulfate. Aqueous ammonia is then used to remove the aluminium and sulfur, leaving beryllium hydroxide.

Beryllium hydroxide created using either the sinter or melt method is then converted into beryllium fluoride or beryllium chloride. To form the fluoride, aqueous ammonium hydrogen fluoride is added to beryllium hydroxide to yield a precipitate of ammonium tetrafluoroberyllate, which is heated to {{convert|1000|C|F}} to form beryllium fluoride. Heating the fluoride to {{convert|900|C|F}} with magnesium forms finely divided beryllium, and additional heating to {{convert|1300|C|F}} creates the compact metal. Heating beryllium hydroxide forms beryllium oxide, which becomes beryllium chloride when combined with carbon and chlorine. Electrolysis of molten beryllium chloride is then used to obtain the metal.

{{Category see also|Beryllium compounds}}

A beryllium atom has the electronic configuration [He] 2s². The predominant oxidation state of beryllium is +2; the beryllium atom has lost both of its valence electrons. Lower oxidation states complexes of beryllium are exceedingly rare. For example, a stable complex with a Be-Be bond, which formally features beryllium in the +1 oxidation state, has been described.{{Cite journal |last1=Boronski |first1=Josef T. |last2=Crumpton |first2=Agamemnon E. |last3=Wales |first3=Lewis L. |last4=Aldridge |first4=Simon |date=2023-06-16 |title=Diberyllocene, a stable compound of Be(I) with a Be–Be bond |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh4419 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=380 |issue=6650 |pages=1147–1149 |doi=10.1126/science.adh4419 |pmid=37319227 |bibcode=2023Sci...380.1147B |s2cid=259166086 |issn=0036-8075}} Beryllium in the 0 oxidation state is also known in a complex with a Mg-Be bond. Beryllium's chemical behavior is largely a result of its small atomic and ionic radii. It thus has very high ionization potentials and does not form divalent cations. Instead it forms two covalent bonds with a tendency to polymerize, as in solid {{chem2|BeCl2}}..{{rp|37}} Its chemistry has similarities to that of aluminium, an example of a diagonal relationship.{{rp|107}}

At room temperature, the surface of beryllium forms a 1−10 nm-thick oxide passivation layer that prevents further reactions with air, except for gradual thickening of the oxide up to about 25 nm. When heated above about 500 °C, oxidation into the bulk metal progresses along grain boundaries.{{cite journal |last1=Tomastik |first1=C. |last2=Werner |first2=W. |last3=Stori |first3=H. |title=Oxidation of beryllium—a scanning Auger investigation |journal=Nucl. Fusion |date=2005 |volume=45 |issue=9 |page=1061 |doi=10.1088/0029-5515/45/9/005 |bibcode=2005NucFu..45.1061T |s2cid=111381179 |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0029-5515/45/9/005}} Once the metal is ignited in air by heating above the oxide melting point around 2500 °C, beryllium burns brilliantly, forming a mixture of beryllium oxide and beryllium nitride. Beryllium dissolves readily in non-oxidizing acids, such as HCl and diluted {{chem2|H2SO4}}, but not in nitric acid or water as this forms the oxide. This behavior is similar to that of aluminium. Beryllium also dissolves and reacts with alkali solutions.{{Greenwood&Earnshaw}}{{rp|112}}

Binary compounds of beryllium(II) are polymeric in the solid state. {{chem2|BeF2|link=Beryllium fluoride}} has a silica-like structure with corner-shared {{chem2|BeF4}} tetrahedra. {{chem2|BeCl2|link=Beryllium chloride}} and {{chem2|BeBr2|link=Beryllium bromide}} have chain structures with edge-shared tetrahedra. Beryllium oxide, BeO, is a white refractory solid which has a wurtzite crystal structure and a thermal conductivity as high as some metals. BeO is amphoteric. Beryllium sulfide, selenide and telluride are known, all having the zincblende structure.{{Cite book |author=Wiberg, Egon |author2=Holleman, Arnold Frederick |date=2001 |title=Inorganic Chemistry |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-12-352651-9}} Beryllium nitride, {{chem2|Be3N2}}, is a high-melting-point compound which is readily hydrolyzed. Beryllium azide, {{chem2|BeN6}} is known and beryllium phosphide, {{chem2|Be3P2}} has a similar structure to {{chem2|Be3N2}}. A number of beryllium borides are known, such as {{chem2|Be5B}}, {{chem2|Be4B}}, {{chem2|Be2B}}, {{chem2|BeB2}}, {{chem2|BeB6}} and {{chem2|BeB12}}. Beryllium carbide, {{chem2|Be2C}}, is a refractory brick-red compound that reacts with water to give methane. Beryllium silicides have been identified in the form of variously sized nanoclusters,{{Cite journal |last1=Fioressi |first1=Silvina |last2=Bacelo |first2=Daniel E. |last3=Binning |first3=R.C. |date=June 2012 |title=A DFT study of dodecahedral beryllium silicide cage clusters |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S000926141200468X |journal=Chemical Physics Letters |language=en |volume=537 |pages=75–79 |doi=10.1016/j.cplett.2012.04.002|bibcode=2012CPL...537...75F }} formed through a spontaneous reaction between pure beryllium and silicon.{{Cite journal |last1=Hite |first1=D.A. |last2=Tang |first2=S.-J. |last3=Sprunger |first3=P.T. |date=January 2003 |title=Reactive epitaxy of beryllium on Si(111)-(7×7) |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0009261402016378 |journal=Chemical Physics Letters |language=en |volume=367 |issue=1–2 |pages=129–135 |doi=10.1016/S0009-2614(02)01637-8|bibcode=2003CPL...367..129H }} The halides {{chem2|BeX2}} (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) have a linear monomeric molecular structure in the gas phase.{{rp|117}}

Beryllium is a strong electron acceptor leading to Be bonding effects similar to hydrogen bonding.{{Citation |last1=Montero-Campillo |first1=M. Merced |title=Chapter Three - The beryllium bond |date=2019-01-01 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0898883818300394 |work=Advances in Inorganic Chemistry |volume=73 |pages=73–121 |editor-last=van Eldik |editor-first=Rudi |series=Computational Chemistry |publisher=Academic Press |language=en |access-date=2022-10-26 |last2=Mó |first2=Otilia |last3=Yáñez |first3=Manuel |last4=Alkorta |first4=Ibon |last5=Elguero |first5=José |doi=10.1016/bs.adioch.2018.10.003 |s2cid=140062833 |editor2-last=Puchta |editor2-first=Ralph}}

File:Beacetate.png]]

File:BeHydrolysis.png

File:Be3OHW6.svg

Solutions of beryllium salts, such as beryllium sulfate and beryllium nitrate, are acidic because of hydrolysis of the {{chem2|[Be(H2O)4](2+)}} ion. The concentration of the first hydrolysis product, {{chem2|[Be(H2O)3(OH)]+}}, is less than 1% of the beryllium concentration. The most stable hydrolysis product is the trimeric ion {{chem2|[Be3(OH)3(H2O)6](3+)}}. Beryllium hydroxide, {{chem2|Be(OH)2}}, is insoluble in water at pH 5 or more. Consequently, beryllium compounds are generally insoluble at biological pH. Because of this, inhalation of beryllium metal dust leads to the development of the fatal condition of berylliosis. {{chem2|Be(OH)2}} dissolves in strongly alkaline solutions.{{cite journal |last1=Alderghi |first1=Lucia |last2=Gans |first2=Peter |last3=Midollini |first3=Stefano |last4=Vacca |first4=Alberto |date=2000 |editor1-last=Sykes |editor1-first=A.G |editor2-last=Cowley |editor2-first=Alan H. |title=Aqueous Solution Chemistry of Beryllium |journal=Advances in Inorganic Chemistry |location=San Diego |publisher=Academic Press |volume=50 |pages=109–172 |doi=10.1016/S0898-8838(00)50003-8 |isbn=978-0-12-023650-3}}

Beryllium(II) forms few complexes with monodentate ligands because the water molecules in the aquo-ion, {{chem2|[Be(H2O)4](2+)}} are bound very strongly to the beryllium ion. Notable exceptions are the series of water-soluble complexes with the fluoride ion:{{cite book|doi=10.1016/S0065-2792(08)60008-4|author=Bell, N.A.|isbn=978-0-12-023614-5|title=Advances in Inorganic Chemistry and Radiochemistry |volume=14 |date=1972 |publisher=Academic Press |location=New York |pages=256–277}}

:{{chem2|[Be(H2O)4](2+) + n F- <-> Be[(H2O)_{2-n}F_{n}](2-) + n H2O}}

Beryllium(II) forms many complexes with bidentate ligands containing oxygen-donor atoms. The species {{chem2|[Be3O(H2PO4)6](2-)}} is notable for having a 3-coordinate oxide ion at its center. Basic beryllium acetate, {{chem2|Be4O(OAc)6}}, has an oxide ion surrounded by a tetrahedron of beryllium atoms.{{Cite journal |last1=Raymond |first1=Onyekachi |last2=Perera |first2=Lakshika |last3=Brothers |first3=Penelope J. |last4=Henderson |first4=William |last5=Plieger |first5=Paul G. |date=2015 |title=The chemistry and metallurgy of beryllium |url=https://nzic.org.nz/unsecure_files/cinz/2015-79-3.pdf |journal=Chemistry in New Zealand |volume=79 |issue=3 |pages=137–143}}

With organic ligands, such as the malonate ion, the acid deprotonates when forming the complex. The donor atoms are two oxygens.

:{{chem2|H2A + [Be(H2O)4](2+) <-> [BeA(H2O)2] + 2 H+ + 2 H2O}}

:{{chem2|H2A + [BeA(H2O)2] <-> [BeA2](2-) + 2 H+ + 2 H2O}}

The formation of a complex is in competition with the metal ion-hydrolysis reaction and mixed complexes with both the anion and the hydroxide ion are also formed. For example, derivatives of the cyclic trimer are known, with a bidentate ligand replacing one or more pairs of water molecules.{{Cite journal |last1=Kumberger |first1=Otto |last2=Schmidbaur |first2=Hubert |date=December 1993 |title=Warum ist Beryllium so toxisch? |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ciuz.19930270611 |journal=Chemie in unserer Zeit |language=de |volume=27 |issue=6 |pages=310–316 |doi=10.1002/ciuz.19930270611 |issn=0009-2851}}

Aliphatic hydroxycarboxylic acids such as glycolic acid form rather weak monodentate complexes in solution, in which the hydroxyl group remains intact. In the solid state, the hydroxyl group may deprotonate: a hexamer, {{chem2|Na4[Be6(OCH2(O)O)6]}}, was isolated long ago.{{cite journal |last1=Rosenheim |first1=Arthur |last2=Lehmann |first2=Fritz |date=1924 |title=Über innerkomplexe Beryllate |journal=Liebigs Ann. Chem. |volume=440 |pages=153–166 |doi=10.1002/jlac.19244400115}} Aromatic hydroxy ligands (i.e. phenols) form relatively strong complexes. For example, log K₁ and log K₂ values of 12.2 and 9.3 have been reported for complexes with tiron.{{cite journal |last1=Schmidt |first1=M. |last2=Bauer |first2=A. |last3=Schier |first3=A. |last4=Schmidtbauer |first4=H |date=1997 |title=Beryllium Chelation by Dicarboxylic Acids in Aqueous Solution |journal=Inorganic Chemistry |volume=53b |issue=10 |pages=2040–2043 |doi=10.1021/ic961410k |pmid=11669821}}

Beryllium has generally a rather poor affinity for ammine ligands.{{cite journal |last1=Mederos |first1=A. |last2=Dominguez |first2=S. |last3=Chinea |first3=E. |last4=Brito |first4=F. |last5=Middolini |first5=S. |last6=Vacca |first6=A. |date=1997 |title=Recent aspects of the coordination chemistry of the very toxic cation beryllium(II): The search for sequestering agents |journal=Bol. Soc. Chil. Quim. |volume=42 |page=281}} There are many early reports of complexes with amino acids, but unfortunately they are not reliable as the concomitant hydrolysis reactions were not understood at the time of publication. Values for log β of ca. 6 to 7 have been reported. The degree of formation is small because of competition with hydrolysis reactions.

{{Main article|Organoberyllium chemistry}}

Organometallic beryllium compounds are known to be highly reactive.{{cite journal|title=Off the Beaten Track—A Hitchhiker's Guide to Beryllium Chemistry |author=Naglav, D. |author2=Buchner, M. R. |author3=Bendt, G. |author4=Kraus, F. |author5=Schulz, S. |journal=Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. |year=2016|volume= 55|issue=36 |pages= 10562–10576|doi=10.1002/anie.201601809|pmid=27364901 }} Examples of known organoberyllium compounds are dineopentylberyllium,{{cite journal |doi=10.1039/J19710001308 |title=Preparation of base-free beryllium alkyls from trialkylboranes. Dineopentylberyllium, bis((trimethylsilyl)methyl)beryllium, and an ethylberyllium hydride |year=1971 |last1=Coates |first1=G. E. |last2=Francis |first2=B. R. |journal=Journal of the Chemical Society A: Inorganic, Physical, Theoretical |page=1308}} beryllocene ({{chem2|Cp2Be}}),{{cite journal|doi=10.1002/cber.19590920233|title=Über Aromatenkomplexe von Metallen, XXV. Di-cyclopentadienyl-beryllium|year=1959|last1=Fischer|first1=Ernst Otto|last2=Hofmann|first2=Hermann P.|journal=Chemische Berichte|volume=92|page=482|issue=2}}{{cite journal |doi=10.1071/CH9841601 |title=A precise low-temperature crystal structure of Bis(cyclopentadienyl)beryllium |year=1984 |last1=Nugent |first1=K. W. |last2=Beattie |first2=J. K. |last3=Hambley |first3=T. W. |last4=Snow |first4=M. R. |s2cid=94408686 |journal=Australian Journal of Chemistry |volume=37 |page=1601 |issue=8}}{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0022-328X(00)92065-5 |title=The molecular structure of beryllocene, (C₅H₅)₂Be. A reinvestigation by gas phase electron diffraction |year=1979 |last1=Almenningen |first1=A. |journal=Journal of Organometallic Chemistry |volume=170 |page=271 |issue=3 |last2=Haaland |first2=Arne |last3=Lusztyk |first3=Janusz}}{{cite journal |doi=10.1107/S0567740872004820 |title=Crystal structure of bis(cyclopentadienyl)beryllium at −120 °C |year=1972 |last1=Wong |first1=C. H. |last2=Lee |first2=T. Y. |last3=Chao |first3=K. J. |last4=Lee |first4=S. |journal=Acta Crystallographica Section B |volume=28 |page=1662 |issue=6|bibcode=1972AcCrB..28.1662W }} diallylberyllium (by exchange reaction of diethyl beryllium with triallyl boron),{{cite journal |doi=10.1002/zaac.19744050111 |title=Ein Beitrag zur Existenz von Allylberyllium- und Allylaluminiumverbindungen |language=de |year=1974 |last1=Wiegand |first1=G. |last2=Thiele |first2=K.-H. |journal=Zeitschrift für Anorganische und Allgemeine Chemie |volume=405 |pages=101–108}} bis(1,3-trimethylsilylallyl)beryllium,{{cite journal |doi=10.1002/anie.201001866 |pmid=20575128 |title=Bis(1,3-trimethylsilylallyl)beryllium |year=2010 |last1=Chmely |first1=Stephen C. |last2=Hanusa |first2=Timothy P. |last3=Brennessel |first3=William W. |journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition |volume=49 |issue=34 |pages=5870–5874}} Be(mes)₂, and (beryllium(I) complex) diberyllocene. Ligands can also be aryls{{cite journal |doi=10.1021/ic00061a031 |title=Synthesis and structural characterization of the beryllium compounds [Be(2,4,6-Me₃C₆H₂)₂(OEt₂)], [Be{O(2,4,6-tert-Bu₃C₆H₂)}₂(OEt₂)], and [Be{S(2,4,6-tert-Bu₃C₆H₂)}₂(THF)]⋅PhMe and determination of the structure of [BeCl₂(OEt₂)₂] |year=1993 |last1=Ruhlandt-Senge |first1=Karin |last2=Bartlett |first2=Ruth A. |last3=Olmstead |first3=Marilyn M. |last4=Power |first4=Philip P. |journal=Inorganic Chemistry |volume=32 |issue=9 |pages=1724–1728}} and alkynyls.{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0022-328X(00)87485-9 |title=The crystal structure of dimeric methyl-1-propynyl- beryllium-trimethylamine |year=1971 |last1=Morosin |first1=B. |journal=Journal of Organometallic Chemistry |volume=29 |pages=7–14 |last2=Howatson |first2=J.}}

The mineral beryl, which contains beryllium, has been used at least since the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.{{sfn|Weeks|1968|p=535}} In the first century CE, Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder mentioned in his encyclopedia Natural History that beryl and emerald ("smaragdus") were similar.{{sfn|Weeks|1968|p=536}} The Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis, written in the third or fourth century CE, contains notes on how to prepare artificial emerald and beryl.{{sfn|Weeks|1968|p=536}}

File:Louis Nicolas Vauquelin.jpg discovered beryllium]]

Early analyses of emeralds and beryls by Martin Heinrich Klaproth, Torbern Olof Bergman, Franz Karl Achard, and {{ill|Johann Jakob Bindheim|de}} always yielded similar elements, leading to the mistaken conclusion that both substances are aluminium silicates.{{sfn|Weeks|1968|p=537}} Mineralogist René Just Haüy discovered that both crystals are geometrically identical, and he asked chemist Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin for a chemical analysis.{{sfn|Weeks|1968|p=535}}

In a 1798 paper read before the Institut de France, Vauquelin reported that he found a new "earth" by dissolving aluminium hydroxide from emerald and beryl in an additional alkali.{{cite journal|journal=Annales de Chimie|first=Louis-Nicolas|last=Vauquelin|title=De l'Aiguemarine, ou Béril; et découverie d'une terre nouvelle dans cette pierre|trans-title=Aquamarine or beryl; and discovery of a new earth in this stone|date=1798|volume=26|pages=155–169|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dB8AAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA155|access-date=5 January 2016|archive-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427192005/https://books.google.com/books?id=dB8AAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA155|url-status=live}} The editors of the journal Annales de chimie et de physique named the new earth "glucine" for the sweet taste of some of its compounds.In a footnote on [https://books.google.com/books?id=dB8AAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA169 page 169] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623233202/https://books.google.com/books?id=dB8AAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA169 |date=23 June 2016 }} of (Vauquelin, 1798), the editors write: "(1) La propriété la plus caractéristique de cette terre, confirmée par les dernières expériences de notre collègue, étant de former des sels d'une saveur sucrée, nous proposons de l'appeler glucine, de γλυκυς, doux, γλυκύ, vin doux, γλυκαιτω, rendre doux ... Note des Rédacteurs." ((1) The most characteristic property of this earth, confirmed by the recent experiments of our colleague [Vauquelin], being to form salts with a sweet taste, we propose to call it glucine from γλυκυς, sweet, γλυκύ, sweet wine, γλυκαιτω, to make sweet ... Note of the editors.){{Sfn|Weeks|1968|p=538}} The name beryllium was first used by Friedrich Wöhler in 1828.{{Cite journal |last=Miśkowiec |first=Paweł |date=April 2023 |title=Name game: the naming history of the chemical elements—part 1—from antiquity till the end of 18th century |journal=Foundations of Chemistry |language=en |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=29–51 |doi=10.1007/s10698-022-09448-5 |issn=1386-4238|doi-access=free }} Both beryllium and glucinum were used concurrently until 1949, when the IUPAC adopted beryllium as the standard name of the element.{{Cite journal |last=Robinson |first=Ann E. |date=2019-12-06 |title=Order From Confusion: International Chemical Standardization and the Elements, 1947-1990 |url=https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/subs/article/view/498 |journal=Substantia |language=en |pages=83–99 Pages |doi=10.13128/SUBSTANTIA-498}}Holden, N. E. (2019). History of the origin of the chemical elements and their discoverers (No. BNL-211891-2019-COPA). Brookhaven National Lab.(BNL), Upton, NY (United States).

File:Friedrich Wöhler Stich.jpg was one of the men who independently isolated beryllium]]

Friedrich Wöhler{{Cite journal|journal=Annalen der Physik und Chemie|date=1828|title=Ueber das Beryllium und Yttrium| trans-title = On beryllium and yttrium|first=Friedrich|last=Wöhler|author-link=Friedrich Wöhler|volume=89|issue=8|pages=577–582|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YW0EAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA577|doi=10.1002/andp.18280890805|bibcode=1828AnP....89..577W|access-date=5 January 2016|archive-date=27 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527114751/https://books.google.com/books?id=YW0EAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA577|url-status=live}} and Antoine Bussy{{cite journal| journal=Journal de Chimie Médicale| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pwUFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA456| pages=456–457| first=Antoine| last=Bussy| title=D'une travail qu'il a entrepris sur le glucinium| date=1828| issue=4| access-date=5 January 2016| archive-date=22 May 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522013803/https://books.google.com/books?id=pwUFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA456| url-status=live}} independently isolated beryllium in 1828 by the chemical reaction of metallic potassium with beryllium chloride, as follows:

:{{chem2|BeCl2 + 2 K -> 2 KCl + Be}}

Using an alcohol lamp, Wöhler heated alternating layers of beryllium chloride and potassium in a wired-shut platinum crucible. The above reaction immediately took place and caused the crucible to become white hot. Upon cooling and washing the resulting gray-black powder, he saw that it was made of fine particles with a dark metallic luster.{{sfn|Weeks|1968|p=539}} The highly reactive potassium had been produced by the electrolysis of its compounds.{{cite book|last=Enghag|first= P.|date=2004|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofel0000engh| title=Encyclopedia of the elements| publisher=Wiley-VCH Weinheim| isbn=978-3-527-30666-4| chapter=11. Sodium and Potassium}} He did not succeed to melt the beryllium particles.{{sfn|Weeks|1968|p=539}}

The direct electrolysis of a molten mixture of beryllium fluoride and sodium fluoride by Paul Lebeau in 1898 resulted in the first pure (99.5 to 99.8%) samples of beryllium.{{sfn|Weeks|1968|p=539}} However, industrial production started only after the First World War. The original industrial involvement included subsidiaries and scientists related to the Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio, and Siemens & Halske AG in Berlin. In the US, the process was ruled by Hugh S. Cooper, director of The Kemet Laboratories Company. In Germany, the first commercially successful process for producing beryllium was developed in 1921 by Alfred Stock and Hans Goldschmidt.{{Cite conference|last=Boillat|first=Johann|date=27 August 2016|title=From Raw Material to Strategic Alloys. The Case of the International Beryllium Industry (1919–1939)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309154800|conference=1st World Congress on Business History, At Bergen – Norway|doi=10.13140/rg.2.2.35545.11363|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=30 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030014300/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309154800_From_Raw_Material_to_Strategic_Alloys_The_Case_of_the_International_Beryllium_Industry_1919-1939|url-status=live}}

A sample of beryllium was bombarded with alpha rays from the decay of radium in a 1932 experiment by James Chadwick that uncovered the existence of the neutron.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=58}} This same method is used in one class of radioisotope-based laboratory neutron sources that produce 30 neutrons for every million α particles.

Beryllium production saw a rapid increase during World War II due to the rising demand for hard beryllium-copper alloys and phosphors for fluorescent lights. Most early fluorescent lamps used zinc orthosilicate with varying content of beryllium to emit greenish light. Small additions of magnesium tungstate improved the blue part of the spectrum to yield an acceptable white light. Halophosphate-based phosphors replaced beryllium-based phosphors after beryllium was found to be toxic.{{cite book|chapter=A Review of Early Inorganic Phosphors|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klE5qGAltjAC&pg=PA98|page=98|title=Revolution in lamps: a chronicle of 50 years of progress|isbn=978-0-88173-378-5|author1=Kane, Raymond|author2=Sell, Heinz|date=2001| publisher=Fairmont Press |access-date=5 January 2016|archive-date=7 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507023648/https://books.google.com/books?id=klE5qGAltjAC&pg=PA98|url-status=live}}

Electrolysis of a mixture of beryllium fluoride and sodium fluoride was used to isolate beryllium during the 19th century. The metal's high melting point makes this process more energy-consuming than corresponding processes used for the alkali metals. Early in the 20th century, the production of beryllium by the thermal decomposition of beryllium iodide was investigated following the success of a similar process for the production of zirconium, but this process proved to be uneconomical for volume production.{{Cite journal|doi=10.1080/08827508808952633|title=Beryllium Extraction – A Review|date=1988|author=Babu, R. S.|journal=Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review|volume=4|pages=39–94|last2=Gupta|first2=C. K.}}

Pure beryllium metal did not become readily available until 1957, even though it had been used as an alloying metal to harden and toughen copper much earlier.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=58}} Beryllium could be produced by reducing beryllium compounds such as beryllium chloride with metallic potassium or sodium. Currently, most beryllium is produced by reducing beryllium fluoride with magnesium.{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=C.R.|title=CRC handbook of chemistry and physics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q2qJId5TKOkC&pg=PP9|access-date=18 July 2019|edition=84th|year=2003|publisher=CRC Press|location=Boca Raton, FL|isbn=978-0-8493-0595-5|pages=4–5|contribution=The Elements|archive-date=13 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313124136/https://books.google.com/books?id=q2qJId5TKOkC&pg=PP9|url-status=live}} The price on the American market for vacuum-cast beryllium ingots was about $338 per pound ($745 per kilogram) in 2001.{{Cite web|url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/beryllium/|title=Beryllium Statistics and Information|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=18 September 2008|archive-date=16 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916114659/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/beryllium/|url-status=live}}

Between 1998 and 2008, the world's production of beryllium had decreased from 343 to about 200 tonnes. It then increased to 230 metric tons by 2018, of which 170 tonnes came from the United States.{{Cite web|url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/beryllium/100300.pdf|title=Commodity Summary: Beryllium|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=16 May 2010|archive-date=1 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601210148/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/beryllium/100300.pdf|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/beryllium/mcs-2010-beryl.pdf|title=Commodity Summary 2000: Beryllium|publisher=United States Geological Survey|access-date=16 May 2010|archive-date=16 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716091446/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/beryllium/mcs-2010-beryl.pdf|url-status=live}}

Beryllium was named for the semiprecious mineral beryl, from which it was first isolated.{{Cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/beryllium |title=etymology online |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030044456/https://www.etymonline.com/word/beryllium |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/beryllium |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023084814/https://www.britannica.com/science/beryllium |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.elementalmatter.info/element-beryllium.htm |title=Elemental Matter |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129001922/http://www.elementalmatter.info/element-beryllium.htm |url-status=live }} Martin Klaproth, having independently determined that beryl and emerald share an element, preferred the name "beryllina" due to the fact that yttria also formed sweet salts.Klaproth, Martin Heinrich, Beitrage zur Chemischen Kenntniss der Mineralkörper (Contribution to the chemical knowledge of mineral substances), vol. 3, (Berlin, (Germany): Heinrich August Rottmann, 1802), [https://books.google.com/books?id=8A8KAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA78 pages 78–79] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426233710/https://books.google.com/books?id=8A8KAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA78 |date=26 April 2016 }}: "Als Vauquelin der von ihm im Beryll und Smaragd entdeckten neuen Erde, wegen ihrer Eigenschaft, süsse Mittelsalze zu bilden, den Namen Glykine, Süsserde, beilegte, erwartete er wohl nicht, dass sich bald nachher eine anderweitige Erde finden würde, welche mit völlig gleichem Rechte Anspruch an diesen Namen machen können. Um daher keine Verwechselung derselben mit der Yttererde zu veranlassen, würde es vielleicht gerathen seyn, jenen Namen Glykine aufzugeben, und durch Beryllerde (Beryllina) zu ersetzen; welche Namensveränderung auch bereits vom Hrn. Prof. Link, und zwar aus dem Grunde empfohlen worden, weil schon ein Pflanzengeschlecht Glycine vorhanden ist." (When Vauquelin conferred – on account of its property of forming sweet salts – the name glycine, sweet-earth, on the new earth that had been found by him in beryl and smaragd, he certainly didn't expect that soon thereafter another earth would be found which with fully equal right could claim this name. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion of it with yttria-earth, it would perhaps be advisable to abandon this name glycine and replace it with beryl-earth (beryllina); which name change was also recommended by Prof. Link, and for the reason that a genus of plants, Glycine, already exists.)

Although Humphry Davy failed to isolate it, he proposed the name glucium for the new metal, derived from the name glucina for the earth it was found in; altered forms of this name, glucinium or glucinum (symbol Gl) continued to be used into the 20th century.{{Cite web |title=4. Beryllium - Elementymology & Elements Multidict |url=https://elements.vanderkrogt.net/element.php?sym=Be |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=elements.vanderkrogt.net}}

File:Beryllium target.jpg

File:Be foil square.jpg. Beryllium is highly transparent to X-rays owing to its low atomic number.]]

Because of its low atomic number and very low absorption for X-rays, the oldest and still one of the most important applications of beryllium is in radiation windows for X-ray tubes.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=58}} Extreme demands are placed on purity and cleanliness of beryllium to avoid artifacts in the X-ray images. Thin beryllium foils are used as radiation windows for X-ray detectors, and their extremely low absorption minimizes the heating effects caused by high-intensity, low energy X-rays typical of synchrotron radiation. Vacuum-tight windows and beam-tubes for radiation experiments on synchrotrons are manufactured exclusively from beryllium. In scientific setups for various X-ray emission studies (e.g., energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) the sample holder is usually made of beryllium because its emitted X-rays have much lower energies (≈100 eV) than X-rays from most studied materials.

Low atomic number also makes beryllium relatively transparent to energetic particles. Therefore, it is used to build the beam pipe around the collision region in particle physics setups, such as all four main detector experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, LHCb),{{Cite web|title =Installation and commissioning of vacuum systems for the LHC particle detectors|publisher =CERN|first1 =R.|last1 =Veness|first2 =D.|last2 =Ramos|first3 =P.|last3 =Lepeule|first4 =A.|last4 =Rossi|first5 =G.|last5 =Schneider|first6 =S.|last6 =Blanchard|url =http://accelconf.web.cern.ch/accelconf/PAC2009/papers/mo6rfp010.pdf|access-date =13 January 2012|archive-date =14 November 2011|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20111114063409/http://accelconf.web.cern.ch/accelconf/PAC2009/papers/mo6rfp010.pdf|url-status =live}} the Tevatron and at SLAC. The low density of beryllium allows collision products to reach the surrounding detectors without significant interaction, its stiffness allows a powerful vacuum to be produced within the pipe to minimize interaction with gases, its thermal stability allows it to function correctly at temperatures of only a few degrees above absolute zero, and its diamagnetic nature keeps it from interfering with the complex multipole magnet systems used to steer and focus the particle beams.{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/S0168-9002(01)01149-4|title=A new inner vertex detector for STAR|date=2001|author=Wieman, H|journal=Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A|volume=473|issue=1–2|page=205|bibcode=2001NIMPA.473..205W|last2=Bieser|first2=F.|last3=Kleinfelder|first3=S.|last4=Matis|first4=H. S.|last5=Nevski|first5=P.|last6=Rai|first6=G.|last7=Smirnov|first7=N.|s2cid=39909027 |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc786424/m2/1/high_res_d/860449.pdf|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=17 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017190110/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc786424/m2/1/high_res_d/860449.pdf|url-status=live}}

Because of its stiffness, light weight and dimensional stability over a wide temperature range, beryllium metal is used for lightweight structural components in the defense and aerospace industries in high-speed aircraft, guided missiles, spacecraft, and satellites, including the James Webb Space Telescope. Several liquid-fuel rockets have used rocket nozzles made of pure beryllium.{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IpEnvBtSfPQC&pg=PA690|title=Metals handbook|chapter=Beryllium|first=Joseph R.|last=Davis|publisher=ASM International|date=1998|isbn=978-0-87170-654-6|pages=690–691|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727094719/https://books.google.com/books?id=IpEnvBtSfPQC&pg=PA690|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fdmMuj0rNEC&pg=PA62|page=62|title=Encyclopedia of materials, parts, and finishes|author=Schwartz, Mel M.|publisher=CRC Press|date=2002|isbn=978-1-56676-661-6|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727094919/https://books.google.com/books?id=6fdmMuj0rNEC&pg=PA62|url-status=live}} Beryllium powder was itself studied as a rocket fuel, but this use has never materialized.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=58}} A small number of extreme high-end bicycle frames have been built with beryllium.{{cite web|url=http://mombat.org/American.htm|title=Museum of Mountain Bike Art & Technology: American Bicycle Manufacturing|access-date=26 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720022521/http://mombat.org/American.htm|archive-date=20 July 2011}} From 1998 to 2000, the McLaren Formula One team used Mercedes-Benz engines with beryllium-aluminium alloy pistons.{{cite web|last=Ward|first=Wayne|title=Aluminium-Beryllium|url=http://www.ret-monitor.com/articles/967/aluminium-beryllium/?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801083918/http://www.ret-monitor.com/articles/967/aluminium-beryllium/|archive-date=1 August 2010|publisher=Ret-Monitor|access-date=18 July 2012}} The use of beryllium engine components was banned following a protest by Scuderia Ferrari.{{cite web|last=Collantine|first=Keith|title=Banned! – Beryllium|url=http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2007/02/08/banned-beryllium/|access-date=18 July 2012|date=8 February 2007|archive-date=21 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721090504/http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2007/02/08/banned-beryllium/|url-status=live}}

Mixing about 2.0% beryllium into copper forms an alloy called beryllium copper that is six times stronger than copper alone.{{cite book |title=Concise Encyclopedia of Chemistry |editor=Geller, Elizabeth |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=New York City |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-07-143953-4}} Beryllium alloys are used in many applications because of their combination of elasticity, high electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, high strength and hardness, nonmagnetic properties, as well as good corrosion and fatigue resistance.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=58}} These applications include non-sparking tools that are used near flammable gases (beryllium nickel), springs, membranes (beryllium nickel and beryllium iron) used in surgical instruments, and high temperature devices.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=58}} As little as 50 parts per million of beryllium alloyed with liquid magnesium leads to a significant increase in oxidation resistance and decrease in flammability.

File:Beryllium Copper Adjustable Wrench.jpg

The high elastic stiffness of beryllium has led to its extensive use in precision instrumentation, e.g. in inertial guidance systems and in the support mechanisms for optical systems. Beryllium-copper alloys were also applied as a hardening agent in "Jason pistols", which were used to strip the paint from the hulls of ships.{{Cite news|date=1 February 2005|access-date=8 August 2009|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Defence-forces-face-rare-toxic-metal-exposure-risk/2005/02/01/1107228681666.html|title=Defence forces face rare toxic metal exposure risk|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|archive-date=30 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230001424/http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Defence-forces-face-rare-toxic-metal-exposure-risk/2005/02/01/1107228681666.html|url-status=live}}

In sound amplification systems, the speed at which sound travels directly affects the resonant frequency of the amplifier, thereby influencing the range of audible high-frequency sounds. Beryllium stands out due to its exceptionally high speed of sound propagation compared to other metals.{{cite report |title=Reactor Material Specifications |publisher=Oak Ridge National Laboratory |date=1958 |page=227 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSA1xJaSZO4C&dq=Beryllium+sound+propagation+compared+to+other+metals.&pg=PA227 |access-date=July 14, 2024}} This unique property allows beryllium to achieve higher resonant frequencies, making it an ideal material for use as a diaphragm in high-quality loudspeakers.{{cite web |url=https://www.refractorymetal.org/6-common-uses-of-beryllium/ |title=6 Common Uses Of Beryllium |website=Refractory Metals |date=28 April 2020 |access-date=July 14, 2024}}

Beryllium was used for cantilevers in high-performance phonograph cartridge styli, where its extreme stiffness and low density allowed for tracking weights to be reduced to 1 gram while still tracking high frequency passages with minimal distortion.{{Cite web |url=https://pubs.shure.com/guide/V15VxMR/en-US |title=Shure V15VxMR User's Guide |page=2 |website=Shure}}

An earlier major application of beryllium was in brakes for military airplanes because of its hardness, high melting point, and exceptional ability to dissipate heat. Environmental considerations have led to substitution by other materials.

A metal matrix composite material combining beryllium with aluminium developed under the trade name AlBeMet for the high performance aerospace industry has low weight but four times the stiffness of aluminum alone.Parsonage, T. (2000). Beryllium metal matrix composites for aerospace and commercial applications. Materials science and technology, 16(7-8), 732-738.

Large-area beryllium mirrors, frequently with a honeycomb support structure, are used, for example, in meteorological satellites where low weight and long-term dimensional stability are critical. Smaller beryllium mirrors are used in optical guidance systems and in fire-control systems, e.g. in the German-made Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 main battle tanks. In these systems, very rapid movement of the mirror is required, which again dictates low mass and high rigidity. Usually the beryllium mirror is coated with hard electroless nickel plating which can be more easily polished to a finer optical finish than beryllium. In some applications, the beryllium blank is polished without any coating. This is particularly applicable to cryogenic operation where thermal expansion mismatch can cause the coating to buckle.

The James Webb Space Telescope has 18 hexagonal beryllium sections for its mirrors, each plated with a thin layer of gold.{{Cite web|url=https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-matters-so-much-20211203|title=The Webb Space Telescope Will Rewrite Cosmic History. If It Works.|date=3 December 2021|access-date=5 December 2021|publisher=Quanta Magazine|archive-date=5 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205004057/https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-matters-so-much-20211203/|url-status=live}} Because JWST will face a temperature of 33 K, the mirror is made of gold-plated beryllium, which is capable of handling extreme cold better than glass. Beryllium contracts and deforms less than glass and remains more uniform in such temperatures.{{Cite journal|title=The James Webb Space Telescope|first=Jonathan P.|last=Gardner|date=2007|journal=Proceedings of Science|volume=52 |url=http://pos.sissa.it/archive/conferences/052/005/MRU_005.pdf|bibcode=2007mru..confE...5G|page=5|doi=10.22323/1.052.0005 |s2cid=261976160 |access-date=15 January 2009|archive-date=4 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604034944/http://pos.sissa.it/archive/conferences/052/005/MRU_005.pdf|url-status=live |doi-access=free }} For the same reason, the optics of the Spitzer Space Telescope are entirely built of beryllium metal.{{Cite journal|title=The Spitzer Space Telescope Mission|arxiv=astro-ph/0406223|journal=Astrophysical Journal Supplement|date=2004|doi=10.1086/422992|volume=154|issue=1|pages=1–9|last1=Werner|first1=M. W.|last2=Roellig|first2=T. L.|last3=Low|first3=F. J.|last4=Rieke|first4=G. H.|last5=Rieke|first5=M.|last6=Hoffmann|first6=W. F.|last7=Young|first7=E.|last8=Houck|first8=J. R.|last9=Brandl|first9=B.|bibcode=2004ApJS..154....1W|s2cid=119379934|display-authors=8}}

File:BERYLLIUM - KUGEL 1.JPG of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress aircraftGray, Theodore. [https://periodictable.com/Items/004.7/index.html Gyroscope sphere. An example of the element Beryllium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414085028/https://periodictable.com/Items/004.7/index.html |date=14 April 2021 }}. periodictable.com]]

Beryllium is non-magnetic. Therefore, tools fabricated out of beryllium-based materials are used by naval or military explosive ordnance disposal teams for work on or near naval mines, since these mines commonly have magnetic fuzes.{{Cite news|url=http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0263919|title=The selection of low-magnetic alloys for EOD tools|publisher=Naval Weapons Plant Washington DC|author=Kojola, Kenneth|author2=Lurie, William|date=9 August 1961|access-date=28 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823130608/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0263919|archive-date=23 August 2011}} They are also found in maintenance and construction materials near magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines because of the high magnetic fields generated.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EqtlqFNkWwQC&pg=PT891|page=891|title=Understanding anesthesia equipment|author=Dorsch, Jerry A.|author2=Dorsch, Susan E.|name-list-style=amp|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|date=2007|isbn=978-0-7817-7603-5|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727101243/https://books.google.com/books?id=EqtlqFNkWwQC&pg=PT891|url-status=live}}

High purity beryllium can be used in nuclear reactors as a moderator,{{Citation |last=Sicius |first=Hermann |title=Alkaline Earth Metals: Elements of the Second Main Group |date=2024 |work=Handbook of the Chemical Elements |pages=77–139 |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-662-68921-9_2 |access-date=2025-03-05 |place=Berlin, Heidelberg |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-662-68921-9_2 |isbn=978-3-662-68920-2}} reflector, or as cladding on fuel elements.Beeston, J. M. (1971). Beryllium metal as a neutron moderator and reflector material. Nuclear engineering and design, 14(3), 445-474.A. Tomberlin T. (2004). Beryllium-a unique material in nuclear applications. Idaho Falls, ID: Idaho National Laboratory.

Thin plates or foils of beryllium are sometimes used in nuclear weapon designs as the very outer layer of the plutonium pits in the primary stages of thermonuclear bombs, placed to surround the fissile material. These layers of beryllium are good "pushers" for the implosion of the plutonium-239, and they are good neutron reflectors, just as in beryllium-moderated nuclear reactors.

Beryllium is commonly used in some neutron sources in laboratory devices in which relatively few neutrons are needed (rather than having to use a nuclear reactor or a particle accelerator-powered neutron generator). For this purpose, a target of beryllium-9 is bombarded with energetic alpha particles from a radioisotope such as polonium-210, radium-226, plutonium-238, or americium-241. In the nuclear reaction that occurs, a beryllium nucleus is transmuted into carbon-12, and one free neutron is emitted, traveling in about the same direction as the alpha particle was heading. Such alpha decay-driven beryllium neutron sources, named "urchin" neutron initiators, were used in some early atomic bombs.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yTIOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA35|page=35|title=How nuclear weapons spread|author=Barnaby, Frank|publisher=Routledge|date=1993|isbn=978-0-415-07674-6|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727094353/https://books.google.com/books?id=yTIOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA35|url-status=live}} Neutron sources in which beryllium is bombarded with gamma rays from a gamma decay radioisotope are also used to produce laboratory neutrons.Byrne, J. Neutrons, Nuclei, and Matter, Dover Publications, Mineola, NY, 2011, {{ISBN|0-486-48238-3}}, pp. 32–33.

File:CANDU fuel bundles.jpg

Beryllium is used in fuel fabrication for CANDU reactors. The fuel elements have small appendages that are resistance brazed to the fuel cladding using an induction brazing process with Be as the braze filler material. Bearing pads are brazed in place to prevent contact between the fuel bundle and the pressure tube containing it, and inter-element spacer pads are brazed on to prevent element to element contact.Harmsen, J. G., Lewis, B. J., Pant, A., & Thompson, W. T. (2010, October). Beryllium brazing considerations in CANDU fuel bundle manufacture. In Proceedings of the Eleventh Conference on CANDU Fuel, Niagara Falls, ON (pp. 1-12).

Beryllium is used at the Joint European Torus nuclear-fusion research laboratory, and it will be used in the more advanced ITER to condition the components which face the plasma.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ngHTkC8hG8C&pg=PA15|page=15|title=Nuclear fusion research|author=Clark, R. E. H.|author2=Reiter, D.|publisher=Springer|date=2005|isbn=978-3-540-23038-0|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727091926/https://books.google.com/books?id=9ngHTkC8hG8C&pg=PA15|url-status=live}} Beryllium has been proposed as a cladding material for nuclear fuel rods, because of its good combination of mechanical, chemical, and nuclear properties. Beryllium fluoride is one of the constituent salts of the eutectic salt mixture FLiBe, which is used as a solvent, moderator and coolant in many hypothetical molten salt reactor designs, including the liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR).{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.fusengdes.2005.08.101|title=JUPITER-II molten salt Flibe research: An update on tritium, mobilization and redox chemistry experiments|date=2006|last1=Petti|first1=D.|last2=Smolik|first2=G.|last3=Simpson|first3=M.|last4=Sharpe|first4=J.|last5=Anderl|first5=R.|last6=Fukada|first6=S.|last7=Hatano|first7=Y.|last8=Hara|first8=M.|last9=Oya|first9=Y.|journal=Fusion Engineering and Design|volume=81|page=1439|issue=8–14|bibcode=2006FusED..81.1439P |osti=911741|display-authors=8|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc885108/|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426171553/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc885108/|url-status=live}}

The low weight and high rigidity of beryllium make it useful as a material for high-frequency speaker drivers. Because beryllium is expensive (many times more than titanium), hard to shape due to its brittleness, and toxic if mishandled, beryllium tweeters are limited to high-end home,{{Cite web|url=http://www.scan-speak.dk/news/20100429a.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192100/http://www.scan-speak.dk/news/20100429a.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |publisher=Scan Speak|date=May 2010|title=Scan Speak offers Be tweeters to OEMs and Do-It-Yourselfers}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/speakers/232-usher-be-718-bookshelf-speakers-with-beryllium-tweeters.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613202401/http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/speakers/232-usher-be-718-bookshelf-speakers-with-beryllium-tweeters.html|archive-date=13 June 2011|first=John E. Jr.|last=Johnson|date=12 November 2007|access-date =18 September 2008|title=Usher Be-718 Bookshelf Speakers with Beryllium Tweeters}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.krksys.com/krk-studio-monitor-speakers/expose.html|publisher=KRK Systems|access-date=12 February 2009|title=Exposé E8B studio monitor|archive-date=10 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410205303/http://www.krksys.com/krk-studio-monitor-speakers/expose.html|url-status=live}} pro audio, and public address applications.{{Cite web|url=http://www.focalprofessional.com/en/technologies/index.php#tabs-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231000340/http://www.focalprofessional.com/en/technologies/index.php#tabs-2|archive-date=31 December 2012|title=Beryllium use in pro audio Focal speakers}}{{Cite web|work=VUE Audiotechnik |url=http://www.vueaudio.com/press/|access-date=21 May 2012|title=VUE Audio announces use of Be in Pro Audio loudspeakers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510155255/http://www.vueaudio.com/press/|archive-date=10 May 2012}} Some high-fidelity products have been fraudulently claimed to be made of the material.{{Cite web|url=http://www.docstoc.com/docs/45957370/BRUSH-WELLMAN |first=Mark |last=Svilar |date=8 January 2004 |access-date=13 February 2009 |title=Analysis of "Beryllium" Speaker Dome and Cone Obtained from China |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517084140/http://www.docstoc.com/docs/45957370/BRUSH-WELLMAN |archive-date=17 May 2013 }}

Some high-end phonograph cartridges used beryllium cantilevers to improve tracking by reducing mass.{{Cite web|url=http://cdn.shure.com/user_guide/upload/2221/v15vxmr-user-guide-english.pdf|access-date=31 May 2017|title=Shure V15 VXmR User Guide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110184904/http://cdn.shure.com/user_guide/upload/2221/v15vxmr-user-guide-english.pdf|archive-date=10 January 2017}}

Beryllium is a p-type dopant in III-V compound semiconductors. It is widely used in materials such as GaAs, AlGaAs, InGaAs and InAlAs grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJs6nK3TZrwC&pg=PA104|page=104|title=High-power diode lasers|author=Diehl, Roland|publisher=Springer|date=2000|isbn=978-3-540-66693-6|access-date=30 October 2021|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727094835/https://books.google.com/books?id=oJs6nK3TZrwC&pg=PA104|url-status=live}} Cross-rolled beryllium sheet is an excellent structural support for printed circuit boards in surface-mount technology. In critical electronic applications, beryllium is both a structural support and heat sink. The application also requires a coefficient of thermal expansion that is well matched to the alumina and polyimide-glass substrates. The beryllium-beryllium oxide composite "E-Materials" have been specially designed for these electronic applications and have the additional advantage that the thermal expansion coefficient can be tailored to match diverse substrate materials.

Beryllium oxide is useful for many applications that require the combined properties of an electrical insulator and an excellent heat conductor, with high strength and hardness and a very high melting point. Beryllium oxide is frequently used as an insulator base plate in high-power transistors in radio frequency transmitters for telecommunications. Beryllium oxide is being studied for use in increasing the thermal conductivity of uranium dioxide nuclear fuel pellets.{{Cite web|url=http://www.purdue.edu/uns/html4ever/2005/050927.Solomon.nuclear.html|date=27 September 2005|title=Purdue engineers create safer, more efficient nuclear fuel, model its performance|publisher=Purdue University|access-date=18 September 2008|archive-date=27 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527141643/http://www.purdue.edu/uns/html4ever/2005/050927.Solomon.nuclear.html|url-status=live}} Beryllium compounds were used in fluorescent lighting tubes, but this use was discontinued because of the disease berylliosis which developed in the workers who were making the tubes.{{Cite book|pages=30–33|author=Breslin AJ|chapter=Ch. 3. Exposures and Patterns of Disease in the Beryllium Industry|isbn=978-0-12-671850-8|title=Beryllium: Its Industrial Hygiene Aspects|editor=Stokinger, HE |publisher=Academic Press, New York|date=1966}}

Beryllium is a component of several dental alloys.OSHA Hazard Information Bulletin HIB 02-04-19 (rev. 05-14-02) [https://web.archive.org/web/20161012071826/https://www.osha.gov/dts/hib/hib_data/hib20020419.html Preventing Adverse Health Effects From Exposure to Beryllium in Dental Laboratories]{{cite journal|last1=Elshahawy|first1=W.|last2=Watanabe|first2=I.|title=Biocompatibility of dental alloys used in dental fixed prosthodontics|journal=Tanta Dental Journal|volume=11|issue=2|year=2014|pages=150–159|doi=10.1016/j.tdj.2014.07.005|doi-access=free}} Beryllium is used in X-ray windows because it is transparent to X-rays, allowing for clearer and more efficient imaging.{{cite web |url=https://www.esrf.fr/home/UsersAndScience/Experiments/StructMaterials/BM05/BeamlineGuide/OpticsHutch/Be_windows.html#:~:text=The%20purpose%20of%20the%20beryllium,small%20way%20by%20passing%20through. |title=Beryllium Windows |website=European Synchrotron Radiation Facility |access-date=Sep 15, 2024}} In medical imaging equipment, such as CT scanners and mammography machines, beryllium's strength and light weight enhance durability and performance.{{cite journal |last1=Zheng |first1=Li |last2=Wang |first2=Xiao |year=2020 |title=Progress in the Application of Rare Light Metal Beryllium |journal=Materials Science Forum |volume=977 |pages=261–271 |doi=10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.977.261}} Beryllium is used in analytical equipment for blood, HIV, and other diseases.{{cite web |url=https://www.refractorymetal.org/beryllium-foil/ |title=Beryllium Foil |website=Refractory Metals |access-date=Sep 15, 2024}} Beryllium alloys are used in surgical instruments, optical mirrors, and laser systems for medical treatments.{{cite book |last=Minnath |first=Mehar |year=2018 |title=Fundamental Biomaterials: Metals |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |editor-last=Balakrishnan |editor-first=Preetha |edition=1st |isbn=978-0081022054 |chapter=7 - Metals and alloys for biomedical applications |pages=167–174 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-08-102205-4.00007-6}}{{cite journal |last=Maksimov |first=O. |year=2005 |title=Berryllium chalogenide alloys for visible light emitting and laser diode |journal=Rev.Adv.Mater.Sc |volume=9 |pages=178–183 |url=https://www.ipme.ru/e-journals/RAMS/no_2905/maksimov.pdf |access-date=Sep 15, 2024}}

{{Main|Acute beryllium poisoning|Berylliosis}}

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| GHS_ref = {{Cite web |url=https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/265063?lang=en®ion=US |title=Beryllium 265063 |publisher=Sigma-Aldrich |date=2021-07-24 |access-date=2021-12-21 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411062634/https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/265063?lang=en®ion=US |url-status=live }}

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Approximately 35 micrograms of beryllium is found in the average human body, an amount not considered harmful.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=57}} Beryllium is chemically similar to magnesium and therefore can displace it from enzymes, which causes them to malfunction.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=57}} Because Be²⁺ is a highly charged and small ion, it can easily get into many tissues and cells, where it specifically targets cell nuclei, inhibiting many enzymes, including those used for synthesizing DNA. Its toxicity is exacerbated by the fact that the body has no means to control beryllium levels, and once inside the body, beryllium cannot be removed.{{cite book |last=Venugopal |first=B. |date=14 March 2013 |title=Physiologic and Chemical Basis for Metal Toxicity |publisher=Springer |pages=167–8 |isbn=978-1-4684-2952-7}}

Chronic beryllium disease (CBD), or berylliosis, is a pulmonary and systemic granulomatous disease caused by inhalation of dust or fumes contaminated with beryllium; either large amounts over a short time or small amounts over a long time can lead to this ailment. Symptoms of the disease can take up to five years to develop; about a third of patients with it die and the survivors are left disabled.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=57}} The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) lists beryllium and beryllium compounds as Category 1 carcinogens.{{Cite book|chapter=Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds|chapter-url=http://www.inchem.org/documents/iarc/vol58/mono58-1.html|publisher=International Agency for Research on Cancer|title=IARC Monograph|volume=58|date=1993|access-date=18 September 2008|archive-date=26 May 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240526025522/https://www.webcitation.org/69YsDBNKb?url=http://www.inchem.org/documents/iarc/vol58/mono58-1.html|url-status=live}}

In the US, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has designated a permissible exposure limit (PEL) for beryllium and beryllium compounds of 0.2 μg/m³ as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) and 2.0 μg/m³ as a short-term exposure limit over a sampling period of 15 minutes. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set a recommended exposure limit (REL) upper-bound threshold of 0.5 μg/m³. The IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) value is 4 mg/m³.{{PGCH|0054}} The toxicity of beryllium is on par with other toxic metalloids/metals, such as arsenic and mercury.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0038.html |title=CDC - NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards - Arsenic (inorganic compounds, as As) |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=11 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511073321/https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0038.html |url-status=live }}[https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0383.html NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards - Mercury compounds]. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507085512/https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0383.html |date=7 May 2021 }}

Exposure to beryllium in the workplace can lead to a sensitized immune response, and over time development of berylliosis.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/beryllium/be-sensitization-drds.html |title=CDC – Beryllium Research- NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=30 January 2017 |archive-date=8 March 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130308164753/http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/beryllium/be-sensitization-drds.html |url-status=live}} NIOSH in the United States researches these effects in collaboration with a major manufacturer of beryllium products. NIOSH also conducts genetic research on sensitization and CBD, independently of this collaboration.

Acute beryllium disease in the form of chemical pneumonitis was first reported in Europe in 1933 and in the United States in 1943. A survey found that about 5% of workers in plants manufacturing fluorescent lamps in 1949 in the United States had beryllium-related lung diseases.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=5}} Chronic berylliosis resembles sarcoidosis in many respects, and the differential diagnosis is often difficult. It killed some early workers in nuclear weapons design, such as Herbert L. Anderson.{{Cite web |url=http://www.atomicarchive.com/Photos/CP1/image5.shtml |title=Photograph of Chicago Pile One Scientists 1946 |date=19 June 2006 |publisher=Office of Public Affairs, Argonne National Laboratory |access-date=18 September 2008 |archive-date=11 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211195616/http://www.atomicarchive.com/Photos/CP1/image5.shtml |url-status=live}}

Beryllium may be found in coal slag. When the slag is formulated into an abrasive agent for blasting paint and rust from hard surfaces, the beryllium can become airborne and become a source of exposure.[https://www.dailypress.com/2013/08/31/newport-news-shipbuilding-workers-face-a-hidden-toxin/ Newport News Shipbuilding Workers Face a Hidden Toxin], Daily Press (Virginia), Michael Welles Shapiro, 31 August 2013

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, in the refining of beryllium metal and the melting of beryllium-containing alloys, in the manufacturing of electronic devices, and in the handling of other beryllium-containing material.{{cite web |url=http://www.inchem.org/documents/ehc/ehc/ehc106.htm |title=Beryllium: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CRITERIA 106 |author=International Programme on Chemical Safety |date=1990 |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=10 April 2011 |archive-date=9 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609023121/http://www.inchem.org/documents/ehc/ehc/ehc106.htm |url-status=live }}

Early researchers undertook the highly hazardous practice of identifying beryllium and its various compounds from its sweet taste. A modern test for beryllium in air and on surfaces has been developed and published as an international voluntary consensus standard, ASTM D7202. The procedure uses dilute ammonium bifluoride for dissolution and fluorescence detection with beryllium bound to sulfonated hydroxybenzoquinoline, allowing up to 100 times more sensitive detection than the recommended limit for beryllium concentration in the workplace. Fluorescence increases with increasing beryllium concentration. The new procedure has been successfully tested on a variety of surfaces and is effective for the dissolution and detection of refractory beryllium oxide and siliceous beryllium in minute concentrations (ASTM D7458).{{Cite web|url=http://www.astm.org/Standards/D7458.htm|title=ASTM D7458 –08|access-date=8 August 2009|publisher=American Society for Testing and Materials|archive-date=12 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712085740/http://www.astm.org/Standards/D7458.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal|doi=10.1520/JAI13168|title=Development of a New Fluorescence Method for the Detection of Beryllium on Surfaces|date=2005|last1=Minogue|first1 =E. M.|last2=Ehler|first2=D. S.|last3=Burrell|first3=A. K.|last4= McCleskey|first4=T. M.|last5=Taylor|first5=T. P.|journal=Journal of ASTM International|volume=2|page=13168|issue=9}} The NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods contains methods for measuring occupational exposures to beryllium.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nmam/method-b.html|title=CDC – NIOSH Publications and Products – NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (2003–154) – Alpha List B|website=www.cdc.gov|access-date=30 January 2017|archive-date=16 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161216223432/https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nmam/method-b.html|url-status=live}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

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| title=Nature's Building Blocks: An A–Z Guide to the Elements

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}}

• {{cite journal|author=Newman LS|date=2003|title=Beryllium|journal=Chemical & Engineering News|volume=81|page=38|doi=10.1021/cen-v081n036.p038|issue=36}}
• Mroz MM, Balkissoon R, and Newman LS. "Beryllium". In: Bingham E, Cohrssen B, Powell C (eds.) Patty's Toxicology, Fifth Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons 2001, 177–220.
• Walsh, KA, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3-GbhmSfyeYC Beryllium Chemistry and Processing]. Vidal, EE. et al. Eds. 2009, Materials Park, OH:ASM International.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015758/http://www.bjorklundnutrition.net/2011/11/belpt/ Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Testing (BeLPT).] DOE Specification 1142–2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy, 2001.

{{Sister project links |wikt=Beryllium |auto=1}}

• [https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.html ATSDR Case Studies in Environmental Medicine: Beryllium Toxicity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204174821/http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=7&po=7 |date=4 February 2016 }} U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• [http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele004.html It's Elemental – Beryllium]
• MSDS: [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003708/http://espi-metals.com/msds%27s/beryllium.pdf ESPI Metals]
• [http://www.periodicvideos.com/videos/004.htm Beryllium] at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham)
• [https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/beryllium/ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – Beryllium Page]
• [http://www.orau.org/nssp/ National Supplemental Screening Program (Oak Ridge Associated Universities)]
• [http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/beryllium/100798.pdf Historic Price of Beryllium in USA]

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