beryllium
a steel-gray, bivalent, hard, light, metallic element, the salts of which are sweet: used chiefly in copper alloys for better fatigue endurance, in springs, and in electrical contacts. Symbol: Be; atomic weight: 9.0122; atomic number: 4; specific gravity: 1.8 at 20° C.
Origin of beryllium
1Words Nearby beryllium
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use beryllium in a sentence
Layers of beryllium, a metal element, and some filters formed the outside of a super-thin iron “sandwich” while a piece of transparent lithium fluoride made up the other half, Kraus says.
Scientists wielded giant lasers to simulate an exoplanet’s super-hot core | Leto Sapunar | January 13, 2022 | Popular-ScienceThe beryllium, meanwhile, is polished so smoothly that if it were expanded to the size of the United States, its biggest imperfection would be just a meter high.
The Most Powerful Telescope Ever Built Is Ready to Unlock the Mysteries of the Cosmos | Jeffrey Kluger | December 20, 2021 | TimeThe segments are made of beryllium—a metal that functions like glass but can be more highly shaped and polished—and covered in a thin layer of gold for reflectivity.
The Most Powerful Telescope Ever Built Is Ready to Unlock the Mysteries of the Cosmos | Jeffrey Kluger | December 20, 2021 | TimeThe orbiting observatory will use a colossal mirror forged from featherweight beryllium—chosen because it holds its shape at extremely cold temperatures.
The James Webb telescope will soon be hunting for ‘first light’ | Paola Rosa-Aquino | December 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceBesides carbon-14, this technique can be used for short-lived isotopes of sulfur, silicon, phosphorus and beryllium, Macdougall says.
Radiometric dating puts pieces of the past in context. Here’s how | Sid Perkins | October 5, 2021 | Science News
Wayne felt his heart starting to pound; D-N beryllium was big.
The Judas Valley | Gerald VanceActually, it could be found eventually with the D-N beryllium as a guide.
The Judas Valley | Gerald VanceOne such reaction uses alpha particles emitted by polonium-210 (or some other alpha emitter) to bombard the element beryllium.
The Atomic Fingerprint | Bernard KeischThat was beryllium steel, the alloy from which the barriers at the terminals of the surta mine were fashioned.
The Great Dome on Mercury | Arthur Leo ZagatThe oxide of beryllium, BeO (also known as glucina), occurs in nature mainly as silicate.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. | Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer
British Dictionary definitions for beryllium
/ (bɛˈrɪlɪəm) /
a corrosion-resistant toxic silvery-white metallic element that occurs chiefly in beryl and is used mainly in X-ray windows and in the manufacture of alloys. Symbol: Be; atomic no: 4; atomic wt: 9.012; valency: 2; relative density: 1.848; melting pt: 1289°C; boiling pt: 2472°C: Former names: glucinum, glucinium
Origin of beryllium
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for beryllium
[ bə-rĭl′ē-əm ]
A hard, lightweight, steel-gray metallic element of the alkaline-earth group, found in various minerals, especially beryl. It has a high melting point and is corrosion-resistant. Beryllium is used to make sturdy, lightweight alloys and aerospace structural materials. It is also used as a neutron moderator in nuclear reactors. Atomic number 4; atomic weight 9.0122; melting point 1,278°C; boiling point 2,970°C; specific gravity 1.848; valence 2. See Periodic Table.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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