All About Elements: Beryllium

1 Boreal’s All About Elements Series Fun Facts Building Real-World Connections to About… 4 the Building Blocks of Chemistry Beryllium

PERIODIC TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS 1. Prior to being named beryllium, this element GROUP 1/IA 18/VIIIA 1 2 was known as glucinium, which originated H KEY He from the Greek word glykys, meaning sweet. Atomic Number 1.01 2/IIA 35 13/IIIA 14/IVA 15/VA 16/VIA 17/VIIA 4.00 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Symbol It was so named due to it characteristic Li Be Br B C N O F Ne 6.94 9.01 79.90 Atomic Weight 10.81 12.01 14.01 16.00 19.00 20.18 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 sweet taste. Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar 8 9 10 22.99 24.31 3/IIIB 4/IVB 5/VB 6/VIB 7/VIIB VIIIBVIII 11/IB 12/IIB 26.98 28.09 30.97 32.07 35.45 39.95 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Be K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr 2. Emerald, morganite and aquamarine are 39.10 40.08 44.96 47.87 50.94 52.00 54.94 55.85 58.93 58.69 63.55 65.41 69.72 72.64 74.92 78.9678.96 79.90 83.80 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 precious forms of beryl. Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe 85.47 87.62 88.91 91.22 92.91 95.94 (97.91)(98) 101.07 102.91 106.42 107.87 112.41 114.82 118.71 121.76 127.60 126.90 131.29 55 56 57–71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 Cs Ba La-Lu Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn 3. Beryllium is resistant to concentrated 9.012 ´ 132.91 137.33 178.49 180.95 183.84 186.21 190.23 192.22 195.08 196.97 200.59 204.38 207.20207.2 208.98 (208.98)(209) (209.99)(210) (222.02)(222) 87 88 89–103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 nitric acid. Fr Ra AcAc-Lr - Lr Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Uub Uut Uuq Uup Uuh Uus Uuo ´´ (223.02)(223) (226.03)(226) (261.11)(261) (262.11)(262) (266.12)(266) (264.12)(264) (277.00)(277) (268.14)(268) (247.07)(269) (280.00)(272) (285.00)(285) (284.00)(284) (289.00)(289) (288.00)(288) (293.00)(289) (294.00) (294.00)(294) ´ 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 4. Where beryllium is rather transparent to x-rays, this element and its compounds are highly La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu 138.91 140.12 140.91 144.24 (144.91)(145) 150.36 151.97151.96 157.25 158.93 162.50 164.93 167.26 168.93 173.04 174.97 US: www.wardsci.com reflective to infrared light. Canada: www.wardsci.ca ´´ 800-962-2660 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103

© 2010 Rev. 7/15 Ward’s Science. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr or by any means without express prior written permission from Ward’s Science. (227.03)(227) 232.04232.04 231.04 238.03 (237.05)(237) (244.06)(244) (243.06)(243) (247.07)(247) (247.07)(247) (251.08)(251) (252.08)(252) (257.10)(257) (258.10)(258) (259.10)(259) (262.11)(262) US: www.scholarchemistry.com Canada: www.scholarchemistry.ca NOTES: Black — solid Red — gas Blue — liquid — synthetically prepared 866-260-0501

© Copyright 2010 ScholAR Chemistry. All Rights Reserved. Values provided are based on the 85th edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Some values have been rounded. BASICNo portion PERIODIC of this work TABLE may be reproduced- SIDE 1 (Rev.in any form7/15) or by any means without express prior written permission from ScholAR Chemistry. 5. Between 1998 and 2000 beryllium-aluminum-alloy pistons were used in the McLaren Formula Catalog #9630200 One racecar used by Mercedes-Benz. The periodic table of elements is an essential part of any chemistry classroom or science lab, but have you ever stopped to wonder about all of the amazing ways each element is used to create the world around us? Each of the trillions of substances in our universe can be tied back to just these 118 simple, yet powerful elements. All About In our All About Elements series, we’ve brought together the most fascinating Beryllium: facts and figures about your favorite elements so students can explore their properties and uses in the real world and you can create chemistry connections Beryllium is the fourth element on the Periodic Table of Elements, found in group 2 (2A), with atomic number of 4, in your classroom and beyond. and symbol Be. Beryllium contains two valence electrons, with a configuration of 1s22s2, making it an alkaline earth metal. Interestingly, beryllium is unlike other alkaline earth Look for a new featured element each month, plus metals in that it does not form ions. The result of this is all limited-time savings on select hands-on materials beryllium compounds are covalent compounds rather than ionic compounds. Beryllium is denser than water, with a to incorporate these element in your lessons. density of 1.85 g/cm3. In its pure elemental form it is a shiny- gray metal that is relatively brittle at room temperature. It is estimated that the crustal abundance of beryllium on Earth is only 2.8 mg/kg, mainly concentrated in soils, however beryllium is found in over 100 mineral species, includ- ing bertrandite, beryl, chrysoberyl, and phenacite. Beryl and bertrandite are the most important commercial sources of the element and its compound today. In fact, the name of beryllium originated from beryllos, which is the Greek name for the mineral beryl. Prior to being named beryllium however, this element was Check back often at boreal.com/elements for the latest content and known as glucinium, which originated from the Greek word glykys, meaning sweet. It was so named due exclusive savings on new teaching tools each month. to its characteristic sweet taste. Early chemists actually tasted the unknown element in order to determine its taste. However, the chemists who discovered this unique property of beryllium also found that it is in fact highly toxic and should therefore NEVER be tasted!

boreal.com | 800-387-9393 2 3 di(2-diethylhexyl) phosphate in kerosene at elevated temperatures. The beryllium is then treated with Properties of Beryllium aqueous ammonium carbonate to form an aqueous ammonium beryllium carbonate complex, which is then heated to precipitate beryllium carbonate. Continued heating liberates carbon dioxide and beryllium Beryllium has both stable and unstable hydroxide (Be(OH)2). Beryllium hydroxide is then recovered by filtration and is the main compound used in isotopes, which are all created in stars. the production of beryllium metal, beryllium alloys and beryllium oxide. Radioisotopes of beryllium are very short lived however, some with half lives as In order to produce pure beryllium metal, the beryllium hydroxide is first converted into beryllium fluoride or short at 7 x 10-17 seconds (8Be) and 2.7 x beryllium chloride. To form beryllium fluoride, beryllium hydroxide has aqueous ammonium hydrogen fluo- 10-21 s (13Be). The most common stable ride added to it to yield ammonium tetrafluoroberyllate. This precipitate is then heated to 1000°C which yields isotope of beryllium was created in the beryllium fluoride. Using heat again at 900°C with magnesium, results in finely divided beryllium and contin- interstellar medium when cosmic rays ued heating up to 1300°C results in the compact metal. Conversely, simply heating the beryllium hydroxide induced fission in heavier elements will result in the oxide form of beryllium, which can easily become beryllium chloride when combined with found specifically in interstellar gas and carbon and chlorine. Electrolysis is then performed in order to obtain the pure metal. Only a few hundred tons dusts. There is only one stable isotope of metallic beryllium is produced each year. of beryllium, 9Be, and therefore it is a monoisotopic element. The isotope 10Be A) View NW across Death Valley showing the location of the shore- The majority of the beryllium that is produced is actually used to produce “beryllium copper” alloy, which con- is a radioactive isotope of beryllium that line from where 10Be TCN samples were collected. B) Surface of tains up to 3 percent beryllium by weight and is remarkably flexible, elastic, and hard wearing. Many products accumulates in the earth’s soil, where it the shoreline that was sampled. C) Views of several of the sampled are made from this versatile alloy such as springs, and even tools. Mixing 2% beryllium with 98% copper pro- enjoys a long half life of 1.36 million years. cobbles on surface of the shoreline. (L.A. Owen et al. / Geomorphol- duces a substance known as beryllium bronze that is used in gyroscopes and other sensitive devices, where Due to this extremely long half life, 10Be ogy 125 (2011) 541–557) wear resistance is a required property. Another alloy is made by mixing 2% beryllium with 98% nickel, which is is used by geologists and soil scientists to used to make spot-welding electrodes, as well as springs and tools, much like beryllium copper alloy is. Other examine soil erosion, soil formation, and the development of lateritic soils. It also has scientific significance in more complicated beryllium alloys are actually used to make products such as windshields, break disks and ice core dating. integral structural components used in the aerospace industry. Mixing beryllium with each of these metals increases their electrical and thermal conductivity and also makes their physical properties more favorable Discovery and History for specific applications. For example, beryllium copper is used to make tools that can be used in hazardous environments in which there are flammable gases or magnetic fields, because they produce no spark when Emerald, morganite and aquamarine are precious forms of beryl. Ancient civilizations utilized emeralds struck and are non-magnetic. and beryl, however it was not until 1798 that geologist Abbé Hauy believed that they contained the same mineral. Hauy then asked his French chemist friend Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin to analyze the two samples. Vauquelin realized that the two samples did indeed contain an unknown element and set off to determine what the unknown element was. Later the same year, Vauquelin made his discovery public at the French How is Beryllium Being Used Academy, and is credited for the discovery of what is now known as the element beryllium. It took another to Innovate? 30 years however until two chemists, Friedrich Wöhler of Germany and A. Bussy of France, were able to isolate the pure element. These two chemists independently produced beryllium by means of reduction chemistry. In addition to being non-magnetic, Beryllium has other properties that make They took beryllium chloride (BeCl2) and reduced it with potassium in a platinum crucible. It has also been it an excellent metal and alloying material for use in a variety of different discovered that the green color in gem-quality forms of beryl, such as emerald, comes in fact from trace industries. Beryllium for instance is one of the lightest metals and has one of amounts of chromium present. the highest melting points among these light metals. It also has a modulus of elasticity that is approximately one-third greater than steel, making it useful for Where in the building materials as well. Another unique quality of beryllium is that it is resistant to concentrated World is Beryllium? nitric acid. Under normal temperature and conditions, beryllium has superior Location & Production thermal conductivity and resists oxidation. Lastly, due to its high melting point, beryllium oxide is a useful material for nuclear and ceramic applications. In the Earth’s crust, the concentration of beryllium is between In fact, in 1932 James Chadwick discovered the existence of the neutron by 2 and 6 ppm. For commercial production of beryllium metal, bombarding a sample of beryllium with alpha rays from the decay of radium. beryllium alloys and beryllium oxide, the specific minerals This is now one way in which laboratory neutrons are produced. (30 neutrons that are of utmost importance are beryl (Al2Be3Si6O18) and are produced for every million alpha particles) Some of the interesting applica- bertrandite (Be4Si2O7(OH)2). These minerals are mainly found in tions using beryllium and its alloys can be found below. China, Kazakhstan and the United States. The Spor Mountain area in Utah has particularly large reserves of bertrandite that Radiation Windows are currently being mined. Reserves of beryl are so low that it is no longer cost effective to hand-sort the stone from pegmatite One of the oldest and best known applications of beryllium is in the produc- deposits in order to harvest the beryllium. It is estimated by the tion of radiation windows for x-ray tubes. Beryllium is specifically used due United States Geological Survey that Utah has total reserves of to its low atomic number and very low absorption of x-rays. It is also used to bertrandite of 15,000 tons. Worldwide reserves of beryllium (in produce thin foils that are used in the radiation windows of x-ray detectors. the form of bertrandite) have been estimated by the USGS to This ultra-thin foil is also finding use in x-ray lithography for reproduction of be 80,000 tons, with about 65% of this residing in the US. micro-miniature integrated circuits. Once the bertrandite is mined, it is wet milled, leached with Beryllium Copper Wrench sulfuric acid, and then extracted from the acid leachate with boreal.com | 800-387-9393 4 5 The low atomic number of beryllium makes it fairly Mechanical Products transparent to energetic particles and therefore it has use in particle physics apparatuses. Beryllium is the material We have discussed a number of physical properties of used for the beam pipe around the collision region of all beryllium including its low molecular weight, stiffness four main detector experiments at the Large Hadron and dimensional stability over wide temperature ranges Collider, the Tevetron and the SLAC. Its low atomic num- that make it the perfect metal for many lightweight ber gives it a low density, allowing collision products to structural components used in the defense and aero- reach the surrounding detectors without interaction. It is space industries. This lightweight metal and its alloys can 1998 Formula 1 McLaren MP4-13 also a very stiff material, which allows the necessary high be found used in high-speed aircraft, guided missiles, vacuum to be produced within the pipe to minimize any spacecraft, and satellites. Between 1998 and 2000 interactions and berylliums thermal stability allows all of beryllium-aluminum-alloy pistons were even used in the these properties to be present at very low temperatures McLaren Formula One racecar used by Mercedes-Benz! Beryllium x-ray diffusion bonded window assemblies (a few degrees above absolute zero). Lastly, it does not Beryllium and its alloys have also been used extensively interfere with the complex multipole magnet that is used in the production of precision instruments, such as inertia to steer and focus the particle beams because of its non- guidance systems, optical systems and gyroscopes, due magnetic properties to its high elastic stiffness. And were used in military aircraft breaking systems, however due to environmental conditions, this use has been discontinued today. Beryllium-containing minerals are also used in cell phones, other portable devices and cameras, and have been present in parts of the analytical equipment used to test blood for HIV and other diseases. Acoustics High-end home and pro-audio systems, as well as large public address systems use beryllium as the high- frequency driver. This is mainly due to its high rigidity and low molecular weight. However, beryllium is much more expensive than other metals used for this purpose, Usher Audio debuted such as titanium, and it is often hard to shape due to its two new speak- extreme brittleness. For these reasons many speaker ers with beryllium The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. manufacturers have shied away from using beryllium for tweeters. their tweeters. Mirrors One of the oldest and best known applications of beryl- lium is in the production of radiation windows for x-ray tubes. Beryllium is specifically used due to its low atomic number and very low absorption of x-rays. It is also used to produce thin foils that are used in the radiation win- dows of x-ray detectors. This ultra-thin foil is also finding Health Concerns Related to Beryllium use in x-ray lithography for reproduction of Although there are many important applications of beryllium used throughout a variety of different micro-miniature integrated circuits. industries, proper handling procedures must be followed when exposure to beryllium is possible. Beryllium has the ability to displace magnesium from enzymes within the human body and when this occurs, those James Webb Space Telescope Smaller beryllium mirrors have been used for optical enzymes malfunction cause health issues. Chronic berylliosis is one disease associated with exposure to guidance systems and in fire-control systems such as beryllium dust or fumes either over short or long periods of time. This disease can take up to five years to on the German-made Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 main develop and attacks the pulmonary system. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has battle tanks. designated permissible exposure limits (PEL) for exposure in the workplace with time-weighted averages (TWA) of 0.002 mg/m3 and a constant exposure limit of 0.005 mg/m3 over 30 minutes. The National Institute Fluorescent Lights for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has also set limits related to recommended exposure to beryl- lium. Therefore, the commercial use of beryllium requires the use of appropriate dust control equipment and During WWII there was a rising demand for beryllium-copper alloys and phosphorus for use in fluorescent industrial controls at all times because of the toxicity of inhaled beryllium-containing dusts that can cause lights. Early fluorescent lights emitted a greenish light because they utilized zinc orthosilicate with various this chronic and life threatening allergic disease. Beryllium is classified as a carcinogen by the International concentrations of beryllium. In order to improve the color of the light, over time small amounts of magne- Agency for Research on cancer. sium tungstate were added to yield an acceptable white light. After it was discovered that beryllium was a toxic material and should not be handled without proper protection, fluorescent light composition changed to include halophosphate-based phosphors rather than beryllium-based phosphors.

6 7 Teach All About Beryllium with Mirror and Lens Supports, Pack of 6 these Hands-on Materials: Item Number: 252009

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