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beryllium

[ buh-ril-ee-uhm ]

noun

, Chemistry.
  1. a steel-gray, bivalent, hard, light, metallic element, the salts of which are sweet: used chiefly in copper alloys for better fatigue endurance, in springs, and in electrical contacts. : Be; : 9.0122; : 4; : 1.8 at 20° C.


beryllium

/ bɛˈrɪlɪəm /

noun

  1. a corrosion-resistant toxic silvery-white metallic element that occurs chiefly in beryl and is used mainly in X-ray windows and in the manufacture of alloys. Symbol: Be; atomic no: 4; atomic wt: 9.012; valency: 2; relative density: 1.848; melting pt: 1289°C; boiling pt: 2472°C Former namesglucinumglucinium
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


beryllium

/ bə-rĭlē-əm /

  1. A hard, lightweight, steel-gray metallic element of the alkaline-earth group, found in various minerals, especially beryl. It has a high melting point and is corrosion-resistant. Beryllium is used to make sturdy, lightweight alloys and aerospace structural materials. It is also used as a neutron moderator in nuclear reactors. Atomic number 4; atomic weight 9.0122; melting point 1,278°C; boiling point 2,970°C; specific gravity 1.848; valence 2.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of beryllium1

1860–65; < Latin bēryll ( us ) beryl + -ium
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Word History and Origins

Origin of beryllium1

C19: from Latin bēryllus , from Greek bērullos
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Example Sentences

Layers of beryllium, a metal element, and some filters formed the outside of a super-thin iron “sandwich” while a piece of transparent lithium fluoride made up the other half, Kraus says.

The beryllium, meanwhile, is polished so smoothly that if it were expanded to the size of the United States, its biggest imperfection would be just a meter high.

From Time

The segments are made of beryllium—a metal that functions like glass but can be more highly shaped and polished—and covered in a thin layer of gold for reflectivity.

From Time

The orbiting observatory will use a colossal mirror forged from featherweight beryllium—chosen because it holds its shape at extremely cold temperatures.

Besides carbon-14, this technique can be used for short-lived isotopes of sulfur, silicon, phosphorus and beryllium, Macdougall says.

Wayne felt his heart starting to pound; D-N beryllium was big.

Actually, it could be found eventually with the D-N beryllium as a guide.

One such reaction uses alpha particles emitted by polonium-210 (or some other alpha emitter) to bombard the element beryllium.

That was beryllium steel, the alloy from which the barriers at the terminals of the surta mine were fashioned.

The oxide of beryllium, BeO (also known as glucina), occurs in nature mainly as silicate.

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berylliosisberyllium copper