Where is beryllium commonly found

Glossary Group A vertical column in the periodic table. Fact box. Glossary Image explanation Murray Robertson is the artist behind the images which make up Visual Elements. Appearance The description of the element in its natural form.

Biological role The role of the element in humans, animals and plants. Natural abundance Where the element is most commonly found in nature, and how it is sourced commercially. Uses and properties. Image explanation. Beryllium is used in gears and cogs particularly in the aviation industry. Beryllium is a silvery-white metal. It is relatively soft and has a low density. Beryllium is used in alloys with copper or nickel to make gyroscopes, springs, electrical contacts, spot-welding electrodes and non-sparking tools.

Mixing beryllium with these metals increases their electrical and thermal conductivity. Other beryllium alloys are used as structural materials for high-speed aircraft, missiles, spacecraft and communication satellites.

Beryllium is relatively transparent to X-rays so ultra-thin beryllium foil is finding use in X-ray lithography. Beryllium is also used in nuclear reactors as a reflector or moderator of neutrons.

The oxide has a very high melting point making it useful in nuclear work as well as having ceramic applications. Biological role. Beryllium and its compounds are toxic and carcinogenic. If beryllium dust or fumes are inhaled, it can lead to an incurable inflammation of the lungs called berylliosis.

Natural abundance. Beryllium is found in about 30 different mineral species. The most important are beryl beryllium aluminium silicate and bertrandite beryllium silicate. Emerald and aquamarine are precious forms of beryl. Help text not available for this section currently. Elements and Periodic Table History. The gemstones beryl and emerald are both forms of beryllium aluminium silicate, Be 3 Al 2 SiO 3 6.

Others preferred the name beryllium, based on the gemstone, and this is now the official name. Atomic data. Glossary Common oxidation states The oxidation state of an atom is a measure of the degree of oxidation of an atom. Oxidation states and isotopes. Glossary Data for this section been provided by the British Geological Survey.

Relative supply risk An integrated supply risk index from 1 very low risk to 10 very high risk. Recycling rate The percentage of a commodity which is recycled. Substitutability The availability of suitable substitutes for a given commodity.

Reserve distribution The percentage of the world reserves located in the country with the largest reserves. Political stability of top producer A percentile rank for the political stability of the top producing country, derived from World Bank governance indicators. Political stability of top reserve holder A percentile rank for the political stability of the country with the largest reserves, derived from World Bank governance indicators.

Supply risk. Relative supply risk 8. Young's modulus A measure of the stiffness of a substance. Shear modulus A measure of how difficult it is to deform a material. Bulk modulus A measure of how difficult it is to compress a substance. Vapour pressure A measure of the propensity of a substance to evaporate. Pressure and temperature data — advanced.

Listen to Beryllium Podcast Transcript :. You're listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by Chemistry World , the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Hello, this week to the element that the Big Bang forgot but which has bounced back as the stuff that the world's best springs are made from.

It's also given us gorgeous gemstones, spark proof tools for the oil industry and a deadly lung condition. Only hydrogen, helium and lithium were formed during the Big Bang itself. The next element, beryllium, is relatively rare in the universe because it is also not formed in the nuclear furnaces of stars. It takes a supernova, in which heavier nuclei disintegrate, to make this metal. Earlier plans to use beryllium on a large scale in the aerospace industries did not materialise even though it lightness and strength made it seem an ideal metal for such purposes.

At one time it was even thought that beryllium powder would be used as a fuel for rockets on account of the colossal amount of heat which it releases when it is burnt. Now less than tons of metal are refined each year because it is dangerously toxic. Beryllium has no known biological role, and its dust causes chronic inflammation of the lungs and shortage of breath. Brief exposure to a lot of beryllium, or long exposure to a little, will bring on this lung condition which is known as berylliosis.

The disease may take up to five years to manifest itself and about a third of those who are affected by it die prematurely and the rest are permanently disabled. Workers in industries using beryllium alloys were most at risk, such as those making early types of fluorescent lamps which were coated inside with an oxide film containing beryllium.

In the manufacture of this type of lamp ceased. The minerals beryl and emerald are beryllium silicates and were known to the ancient world; the emperor Nero used a large emerald the better to view gladiatorial fights in the area. Their beautiful green colour is due to traces of chromium. Analysis of the oxygen in these gems enables their source to be identified because the isotope ratio of oxygen to oxygen varies according to where the mineral is found.

The Romans got their emeralds mainly from Austria, although some came from as far away as Pakistan. More surprising was the discovery that the Mogul rulers of India got some of theirs from Colombia in South America probably via trade across the Pacific. The chief ores of beryllium are beryl and bertrandite, which is also a silicate. Sometimes truly enormous crystals of bertranide turn up, one specimen found in Maine in the USA was over 5 metres in length and weighed almost 20 tonnes.

That beryl and emerald might harbour a new element was suspected by the 18 th century and Nicholas Louis Vauquelin analysed them, and on 15 February he announced that they contained a new element - but he was unable to separated it from its oxide.

Beryllium metal was isolated in from beryllium chloride BeCl 2 by reacting this with potassium. Beryllium was to play a historic role in advancing our knowledge of atomic theory since it helped uncover the fundamental particle, the neutron. This was discovered in by James Chadwick who bombarded a sample of beryllium with the alpha-rays which are helium nuclei emanating from radium.

He observed that it then emitted a new kind of subatomic particle which had mass but no charge. The combination of radium and beryllium is still used to generate neutrons for research purposes, although a million alpha-particles only manage to produce 30 neutrons.

Beryllium is a silvery-white, lustrous, relatively soft metal of group 2 of the periodic table. The metal is unaffected by air or water, even at red heat.

When copper and nickel are alloyed with beryllium they not only become much better at conducting electricity and heat, but they display remarkable elasticity. For this reason their alloys make good springs and the copper alloy is used to make spark-proof tools, which are the only ones allowed in sensitive areas such as oil refineries. The most common type of corticosteroid prescribed for CBD is prednisone. If successful, treatment with steroids can slow the progress of CBD by reducing the buildup of scar tissue and delaying permanent lung damage.

However, many individuals do not respond well to treatment. Others cannot tolerate the side effects of long-term steroid treatment. Side effects of taking steroids for long periods of time can include slower healing of infections, calcium loss from the bones, higher blood cholesterol, and fluid and salt retention which can make heart or kidney disease worse. The right treatment for an individual must be considered in light of that person's overall health and medical history.

Individuals with insufficient levels of oxygen in their blood as a result of CBD may also need supplemental oxygen to help improve oxygen delivery to the body and to protect the heart from the damage that can be done by low oxygen levels.

Individuals who cannot take steroids may continue to lose lung function. As a result they are likely to experience poorer quality of life, becoming invalids in some cases. Their life span may also be shorter. Although the use of corticosteroids is the standard treatment for CBD, research is in progress on other drugs that may reduce the need for high doses of corticosteroids.

On the other hand, some individuals with diagnosed CBD may never become sick enough to require treatment. In industrial applications beryllium can be: used as pure metal mixed with other metals to form alloys processed to salts that dissolve in water processed to form oxides and ceramic materials.

Beryllium metal has been produced for various industrial uses since the late s. Both structural and instrument grade materials are manufactured, especially for use in aerospace and defense: Windshield frames and other structures in high-speed aircraft and space vehicles Aircraft and space shuttle brakes Satellite mirrors and space telescopes Inertial guidance systems and gyroscopes Neutron moderator or reflector in nuclear reactors X-ray windows Nuclear weapons components.

Be alloys are used for: Springs, switches, relays, and connectors in automobiles, computers, radar and telecommunications equipment, and other instruments High-strength non-sparking tools including some tools sold for use in the home Molds or casts to make metal, glass, and plastic items Sports equipment such as golf clubs and bicycle frames Dental bridges and related applications Beryllium is also added to aluminum, nickel, zinc, and zirconium for some applications.

It is expensive and too brittle to work with in some applications. Medical studies show that even small amounts of beryllium particles of a size that can be breathed deeply into the lungs may trigger an allergy-like sensitivity in percent of people exposed.

About 1 to 3 percent of all people exposed to beryllium develop CBD. In studies of people in certain occupations where historically exposure to beryllium was greatest for example, studies of machinists in beryllium operations , this number rises to as many as 10 to 14 percent.

There is currently no widely available test to find out who is sensitive to beryllium before exposure occurs. The percentage of people who were exposed and became ill is much larger than similar percentages known for other DOE workplace health hazards. This is a good thing, because the water-insoluble form of beryllium can cause much less harm to organisms than the water-soluble form.

Beryllium will not be accumulated in the bodies of fish. However, some fruits and vegetables such as kidney beans and pears may contain significant levels of beryllium. These levels can enter animals that eat them, but luckily most animals excrete beryllium quickly through urine and feces. The uptake of beryllium has consequences mainly for human health. However, laboratory tests have indicated that it is possible for beryllium to cause cancer and changes of DNA with animals.

So far there is no field evidence to support these findings. Back to the periodic table of elements. Toggle navigation. Home Periodic table Elements Beryllium. About Lenntech. General Delivery Conditions. Privacy Policy. All rights reserved. Beryllium Beryllium is a toxic bivalent element, steel gray, strong, light-weight, primarily used as hardening agent in alloys. Applications Beryllium is used as an alloying agent in the production of beryllium-copper.