Beryllium

**anukhet** · 3rd June 2004, 07:06

Hey! On the news I heard that NASA are going to send robots to fix the Hubble ST.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3769445.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3769445.stm

Now Ive sussed what WJ is doing - hes building the launcher

3rd June 2004, 16:47

Whehehehe...

**richard_morris** · 3rd June 2004, 17:53

Enough of this idle chit chat - There is a material which is the density of aluminium, as strong as titanium and is NOT toxic. OK, I guess its a bit expensive, but no doubt Ed could afford it!.... Interested? go to http://www.rsp-products.nl-rsp.swf www.rsp-products.nl-rsp.swf

Richard

**richard_morris** · 3rd June 2004, 17:55

Whoops, sorry - try again....

http://www.rsp-products.nl/rsp.swf www.rsp-products.nl/rsp.swf

3rd June 2004, 18:39

Youve missed the whole point. If it aint toxic, its not worth discussing.

Yes, Im joking.

**kodster** · 29th October 2004, 23:03

Is beryllium like scandium?

Just want to know.

Team Gore

30th October 2004, 06:48

Beryllium is better than scandium in my opinion, but its very toxic.

30th October 2004, 11:07

WebElements (http://www.webelements.comwww.webelements.com) is the periodic table on the WWW
WebElements Pro logo
Beryllium
4
Be
9.012182(3)
The essentials

* Name: beryllium
* Symbol: Be
* Atomic number: 4
* Atomic weight: 9.012182 (3)
* CAS Registry ID: 7440-41-7

* Group number: 2
* Group name: Alkaline earth metal
* Period number: 2
* Block: s-block

Description

Here is a brief description of beryllium.

* Standard state: solid at 298 K
* Colour: lead grey
* Classification: Metallic
* Availability: beryllium is available in several forms including foil, lump, and powder. Small and large samples of beryllium foil can be purchased from Advent Research Materials
via their web catalogue.

Beryllium is a Group 2 (IIA) element. At ordinary temperatures, beryllium resists oxidation in air. Its ability to scratch glass is probably due to the formation of a thin layer of the oxide. Aquamarine and emerald are precious forms of the mineral beryl, [Be3Al2(SiO3)6].

beryllium sheet
This sample is from The Elements Collection
, an attractive and safely packaged collection of the 92 naturally occurring elements that is available for sale.
Isolation
Here is a brief summary of the isolation of beryllium.

Beryllium metal is available commercially and so would never normally be made in the laboratory. Its extraction from ores is complex. The mineral beryl, [Be3Al2(SiO3)6] is the most important source of beryllium. It is roasted with sodimu hexafluorosilicate, Na2SiF6, at 700Â°C to form beryllium fluoride. This is water soluble and the beryllium may be precipitated as the hydroxide Be(OH)2 by adjustment of the pH to 12.

Pure beryllium may be obtained by electrolysis of molten BeCl2 containing some NaCl. The salt is added since the molten BeCl2 conducts very poorly. Another method involves the reduction of beryllium fluoride with magnesium at 1300Â°C.

BeF2 + Mg MgF2 + Be

30th October 2004, 12:13

Here is a brief description of beryllium.

* Standard state: solid at 298 K

For those of you who dont know 298K is 25degrees celcius. That means that beryllium will not be completly solid at room temperature (21degrees celcius or 294K) So its probably not really suitable for armour at all.

Regards
Ian