"When the beryllium atoms begin to kick out neutrons heavily, we'll turn on full force and see what happens ... The brilliantly incandescent beryllium suddenly turned to a strange bluish-white radiation of such dazzling intensity as to all but overpower the senses."

            —Amazing Stories (January 1935): "The World Aflame" by Isaac R. Nathanson

At the time he wrote it, Nathanson's story about atomic bombs was predominantly fantasy; in just over 10 years, however, it became dreadful reality. When Little Boy detonated over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Fat Man over Nagasaki just three days later, beryllium would be used as the tamper material that helped ensure they exploded "efficiently."

Without going into the physics in too much detail, beryllium acted in this capacity in two ways. On the one hand, it reflected back the neutrons from the fission reaction, thereby preventing leakage. On the other hand, it served as a buffer, as it were, to "push back" against the expanding fission reaction.

Now, some 63 years later, beryllium continues to be used in a similar fashion, but for peaceful purposes. In the nuclear power generation industry, beryllium is used both for blast shields and reflectors, and as a neutron moderator.

Other Uses

Element number four in the periodic table and having an atomic weight of 9.01, beryllium (Be) is the second-lightest metal we know (lithium is the first).

But even with its very low density (1.85 grams/cubic centimeter), it has a very high melting point: 1,278° C. (Lithium, on the other hand, has a very low melting point: 180.54° C.)

In other words, beryllium is a mighty tough metal. Although only two-thirds the weight of aluminum and a quarter of the weight of steel, on a kilogram-for-kilogram basis, beryllium is actually six times stronger than steel. And, in addition both to being nonmagnetic and having excellent thermal conductivity, it also remains stable over a wide range of temperatures.

Combining all these qualities, as it does, beryllium is ideally suited for a number of specialized applications, whether in the form of an alloy (accounting for around 75% of its consumption in the U.S., according to Roskill), as a pure metal, or as any one of a number of different chemical compounds, but particularly as an oxide in ceramics.

Electronics and Electrical Components

The greatest use of beryllium in alloys is in beryllium-copper alloys or "beryllium bronze." For the most part, these are usually either high-strength or high-conductivity alloys for use in circumstances in which either or both characteristics are needed.

Applications in which these alloys are found include:

• Electrical contacts and connectors in cell phones and computers
• Spot-welding electrodes
• Underwater fiber optic cable systems
• Cable and HD TV
• Very hi-fi loudspeakers

Because of its good spring properties at high temperatures, too, beryllium is also used in:

• Thermostats
• Bellows
• Sockets

With both high thermal conductivity and good electrical insulation properties, as well as resistance to chemical corrosion and high melting points, beryllium oxide ceramics are also used extensively in electronics. They are, in particular, to be found in substrates used in the computer and telecom industries and as heat sinks.

In Space

Because of not only its lightness, but also its rigidity and strength at low, as well as high, temperatures, beryllium is ideal for use in the space industry.

Beryllium and beryllium alloys were used in both the Mars Rover and Cassini orbiters. The space shuttle uses beryllium in its window frames and doors. Polished and used as a mirror, the metal is also ideal for use in telescopes in space. To date, its most notable uses have been in the Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope. If it is still launched, it will also be used in the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to be hoisted into space some time in 2013.

Defense

While beryllium is still used in nuclear warheads, it is also now used in a wide variety of other applications in the defense industry.

As a lightweight metal it is used in the construction of jet fighters (e.g., F16s), helicopters, spacecraft and satellites. According to Metal Bulletin Monthly, the aluminum-beryllium alloy AlBeMet 162 is "used in over 340 parts on the F-22 fighter."

In missiles, because of its high modulus of elasticity and, thus, its ability to remain rigid under very high g-forces, it is used for the gimbals in which the navigation gyroscopes are mounted.

Because of its strength at high temperatures, in military (and commercial) aircraft, it is also used extensively in landing gear, particularly the brakes. But whereas brakes in military aircraft will be 100% beryllium, those in commercial (not required to operate under such exacting conditions) will use the metal in an alloy form.

Interestingly, another property of beryllium that makes it ideal not only for use in this context, but also in the oil and gas industry, especially in drill bits, is the fact that the metal is nonsparking.