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beryllium

beryllium

9 9.9
A light, strong grey metal that is poisonous and used to make alloys
  • noun
  • /bɛˈrɪliəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : berilio
  • Clad blocks of beryllium oxide provided moderation.
  • beryllium alloy
  • beryllium copper
  • beryllium nucleus

It has a beryllium outer layer and then it has its normal solid solid cryogenic deuterium and tritium, and then a hollow centre filled with gas as well.

Examples

  • Do your field engineers have a beryllium casing?

  • Grace, why did you not say you had access to a beryllium clock?

  • But if I go from lithium over to beryllium, it gets smaller, right?

  • Please, I need a beryllium atomic clock.

  • The mirror surface itself is beryllium plated in gold.

  • This is a beryllium rod, which is causing a reaction with the plutonium inside the core.

  • Our best measurements show that 6% of the beryllium nuclei are 10Be.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The nickel-58 ions in the beam are fragmented by impact with the beryllium target.

    Academic text (2002)
  • We had nonmagnetic tools made from a beryllium-copper alloy.

    Academic text (2006)
  • The aerospace industry uses beryllium in lightweight alloys for aircraft parts.

Synonyms

Be
vsberyllium
  • Specialized
176 8.6

The symbol for the metal beryllium

is the actual metallic substance rather than its written symbol
glucinium
vsberyllium
  • Archaic
9.9

An old name for the light grey metal beryllium

is the modern standard name rather than the older term

Compounds

beryllium bronze
  • Specialized
8.2

A copper and beryllium alloy that is very strong and does not rust easily

Surface Forms

beryllium singular
berylliums plural

Morphology

beryllium = beryl (semi-transparent) = beryl + ium

Formally built from 'beryl' + the element-forming suffix '-ium', but deriving 'metallic element' from a gemstone name requires specialized chemical/etymological knowledge.

Etymology

Beryllium comes from the name of the gem beryl, a 'blue-green' stone, plus the metal ending -ium. It was named because the element was first found in beryl, so a helpful way to remember beryllium is to think of a light, strong 'metal' linked to that clear, pale stone.