Beryllium Case History Summary
The Wonder Metal that Dodged WWII
Compiled by Kimble D. McCutcheon
Published 5 Dec 2023
| Beryllium is a metallic element, dark steel gray in color, with an atomic weight of 9.018 and a specific gravity of 1.85. It is found chiefly in the mineral beryl, a complex silicate of aluminum and beryllium, having the chemical formula 3 BeO Al2O3 6SiO2; the usual form contains 3 - 4.5% beryllium. Beryl deposits had been found in Argentina, Brazil, Canada., India, Africa, Russia and the United States. In the U.S. it was found chiefly In South Dakota, Colorado and New England. Beryllium was first isolated in Germany in 1828, but for a hundred years its production remained on an experimental scale. Beginning about 1920, American metallurgist became interested in commercial production, but they too experienced difficulties in extracting pure beryllium from the ore because of its great affinity for oxygen, causing brittleness in the metal, which is soft in its pure state. The more practical uses of beryllium were found when it was alloyed with other metals, such as nickel, copper, and aluminum; of these, beryllium-copper had the far the largest application. This report's research was completed on 3 Aug 1945 and it was released during December 1946. |
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