What are the uses of beryllium?

In 1798, a French chemist, Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin discovered a brittle, steel-gray metal. It was found as a component of coal, oil, certain rock minerals, volcanic dust, and soil. This metal was named beryllium.

Beryllium is used to make an alloy – beryllium copper- which has a wide variety of uses. Beryllium copper is used to make springs, electrical contacts, spot-welding electrodes, and non-sparking tools.

This alloy absorbs a lot of heat energy without becoming as hot as other metals. It is used in high-speed aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and communication satellites for the same reason. It is also used to make windshield frames, brake discs, support beams, and other structural components of the space shuttle.

Though ordinary light cannot pass through beryllium, X-rays seep through it. So, it is used in the windows of X-Ray machines and radiation detectors. It is used to make computer parts and instruments where lightness, stiffness, and stability are required and even in nuclear reactors.

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