beryllium (Be)Article Free Pass beryllium (Be), formerly (until
1957) glucinium, chemical element, the lightest member of the
alkaline-earth metals of Group 2 (IIa) of the periodic table,
used in metallurgy as a hardening agent and in many outer space
and nuclear applications. Occurrence, properties, and uses
Beryllium is a steel-gray metal that is quite brittle at room
temperature, and its chemical properties somewhat resemble those
of aluminum. It does not occur free in nature. Beryllium is
found in beryl and emerald, minerals that were known to the
ancient Egyptians. Although it had long been suspected that the
two minerals were similar, chemical confirmation of this did not
occur until the late 18th century. Emerald is now known to be a
green variety of beryl. Beryllium was discovered (1798) as the
oxide by French chemist Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin in beryl and in
emeralds and was isolated (1828) as the metal independently by
German chemist Friedrich Wöhler and French chemist Antoine A.B.
Bussy by the reduct