Discovery date : 1797
Discovered by : Nicholas Louis Vauquelin
Origin of the name : The name is derived from the Greek name for beryl, 'beryllo'.
Allotropes :
~>BERYLLIUM is a chemical element with symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a relatively rare element in the universe, usually occurring as a product of the spallation of larger atomic nuclei that have collided with cosmic rays.
| FACT BOX | |||
| Group | 2 | Melting point | 1287°C, 2349°F, 1560 K |
| Period | 2 | Boiling point | 2468°C, 4474°F, 2741 K |
| Block | s | Density (g cm−3) | 1.85 |
| Atomic number | 4 | Relative atomic mass | 9.012 |
| State at 20°C | Solid | Key isotopes | 9Be |
| Electron configuration | [He] 2s2 | CAS number | 7440-41-7 |
| ChemSpider ID | 4573986 | ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database | |
The gemstones beryl and emerald are both forms of beryllium aluminium silicate, Be3Al2(SiO3)6. The French mineralogist Abbé René-Just Haüy thought they might harbour a new element, and he asked Nicholas Louis Vauquelin, to analyse them and he realised they harboured a new metal and he investigated it. In February 1798 Vauquelin announced his discovery at the French Academy and named the element glaucinium (Greek glykys = sweet) because its compounds tasted sweet. Others preferred the name beryllium, based on the gemstone, and this is now the official name.
Beryllium metal was isolated in 1828 by Friedrich Wöhler at Berlin and independently by Antoine-Alexandere-Brutus Bussy at Paris, both of whom extracted it from beryllium chloride (BeCl2) by reacting this with potassium.