Facts about Beryllium

Facts About Beryllium

• Beryllium is the fourth element on the periodic table and the 44th most abundant element in the earth’s crust.
• Beryllium is two-thirds the density of aluminum.
• By weight, beryllium has six times the specific stiffness of steel.
• Beryllium is non-magnetic.
• Only three countries, the United States, China, and Kazakhstan currently process beryllium ores and concentrates into beryllium products.
• Beryllium was discovered in 1798 by Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin.
• Beryllium is used in the Spitzer Space Telescope – due to its strength and light weight.
• The next-generation James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to deploy in 2018, will depend on a 6.5 meter beryllium mirror to see objects 200 times fainter than visible before.
• Beryllium is a part of many of the things you rely on each day, including cellular phones, kitchen and laundry appliances, home temperature controls, MP3 players, desktop and portable computers, and your car.
• Beryllium ceramics are used to focus and control the lasers used in eye surgery.