Beryllium

 By Bruce Shawkey

From a 1957 issue of Europa Star:

Chemically, beryllium is a simple body or metallic element found in various minerals, more especially in emeralds. The ore of said metal has been known since remote ages. Nevertheless, it was not until 1798 that the French chemist Vauquelin discovered a new oxide which he named " glucine," a word of the same etymological root as glucose, owing to its sugary taste. Later on, the process of extraction was slowly improved in 1828 by a Frenchman, Bussy, and simultaneously by  a German, Woliler. Following the latter researches, the Germans and then the Anglo-Saxons adopted the name " beryllium " to designate the metal which is obtained from beryll, a beryllium-aluminium-silicate, a transparent mineral used in past centuries for the first spectacle lenses.

From the year 1898 the production of beryllium became an accomplished fact through an electrolytic process. However, the successful experiments attempted between 1921 and 1944 were necessary prior to reaching definitively the stage of industrial utilization.

The requirements of war preparations and armaments have, in that line, appreciably contributed to the development of this product, chiefly in the United States of America. The principal layers of beryllium ore are located in Canada, Brazil, Argentina, India and Madagascar. In Europe, there are few: some are found in the Ural Mounts and smaller ones may be in Norway. Beryllium belongs to the category of light metals with a specific weight of 1.85 and a melting temperature of 12780C. Its main characteristic is to be extremely hard. Industrial applications of the intrinsic qualities of beryllium have been made possible since ten years only; they are carried out with an alloy of beryllium and copper, the purpose of which is to reduce wear and tear and to avoid the detrimental consequences of faulty lubrication. Furthermore, beryllium plays an ever growing role in modern jewellery, especially for its lightness.