History and Production From Greek word beryllos, meaning
"beryl". Beryllium was discovered as the oxide by L.-N.
Vauquelinin in beryl and in emaralds in 1798. The metal was
isolated in 1828 by F. Woehler and independantly by A.A.B. Bussy
by the reaction of potassium on beryllium chloride. Beryllium
can be extracted by roasting beryl with Na2SiF6 at 700°C. It is,
however, more commonly produced by reduction of beryllium
fluoride with magnesium at 1300°C. The metal is used as an
alloying agent and as a structural material for aircraft,
spacecraft and satellites. For example, about 2% of Be will
increase the strength of copper by sixfold. The alloy is used
for springs and electrical connections. Beryllium is also used
in nuclear reactors as a moderator due to its low thermal
neutron adsorption cross section. It is nonmagnetic and steel
grey in color and has one of the highest melting points of the
light metals. Its elasticity modulus is about a third greater
than that of steel and with good thermal conductivity.