Beryllium (Be)
Beryllium is a lightweight, strong metal used in aerospace materials and X-ray windows.
Properties of Beryllium
- Atomic number
- 4
- Category
- Alkaline Earth Metal
- Atomic mass
- 9.0122 u
- Electron configuration
- [He] 2s²
- Melting point
- 1560 K (1286.85 °C)
- Boiling point
- 2742 K (2468.85 °C)
- Density
- 1.85 g/cm³
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- 1.57
- Appearance
- White-gray metallic
- Discovered by
- Louis Nicolas Vauquelin (1798)
Facts about Beryllium
- Beryllium is used in the mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope!
- Emeralds get their green color from tiny amounts of beryllium!
- Beryllium is one-third lighter than aluminum but six times stronger than steel!
- Beryllium is transparent to X-rays, so it's used to make X-ray machine windows!