When they create electricity they use beryllium to help the process. Emeralds and Gems Beryllium is in emeralds. It is also in another gem called aquamarine. Beryllium is only one of many elements inside an emerald. Machine Parts and Springs Beryllium is a very light metal. However, this risk does not apply to people in the general population who do not actually handle beryllium, Pepper said.
This immunologic response, called beryllium sensitization, can then develop into chronic beryllium disease, which causes scarring of the lung tissue and can be deadly. There is currently no cure for the disease, whose progression can be slowed by medication, oxygen therapy, and lung transplants in severe cases, according to the University of California San Francisco Medical Center.
Interestingly, not all those who get exposed to potentially harmful levels of beryllium will experience an allergic, potentially deadly reaction. About 85 percent of people who develop chronic beryllium disease after getting exposed have an immune system protein known as HLA-DP2, according to recent research published in July in the journal Cell. In the study , researchers determined that the bodies of people who have this protein create a unique molecular "pocket," which captures beryllium ions and triggers an inflammatory response in the lungs.
He added that the new findings could one day lead to new therapeutic strategies to treat and prevent chronic beryllium disease. Using a technique known as cosmogenic nuclide dating, scientists can determine how long rocks have been exposed to the air by measuring their levels of beryllium, a radioactive isotope of beryllium. Cosmogenic nuclide dating is often used to determine the dates of important geological events, such as glacier advances and retreats, rock slides, meteor impacts and lava flows.
Some of the oldest known gems were mined by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Hittites, and Persians between and B. In addition to beryl, beryllium is found in the mineral bertrandite, which in recent years has become a major ore of this element. Bertrandite is found in certain volcanic rocks derived from granite. Bertrandite ore mined in Utah makes up nearly all of U. China produces most of the rest, from beryl ores. Mozambique and a few other countries mine small amounts of beryl.
The United States produces and exports large amounts of beryllium alloys and compounds, and thus is a net importer of ores, but a net exporter of finished beryllium products. Bertrandite Mining: Unlike beryl, in which the mineral can be identified by color and crystal structure, bertrandite mineralization cannot be recognized by the naked eye.
Consequently geologic and geochemical evaluations are conducted on a specific area, followed by a drilling program to determine if an economic ore body exists. According to U. Geological Survey reports, total US use of all forms of beryllium in was about metric tons.
Both structural and instrument grade materials are manufactured, especially for use in aerospace and defense:. Soluble salts, such as beryllium fluoride, chloride, and sulfate, are used in nuclear reactors, in glass manufacture, and as catalysts for certain chemical reactions. Beryllium-copper BeCu alloys usually contain about 2 percent beryllium, but vary greatly in composition to meet different industrial and consumer needs.
Beryllium contributes hardness, strength, high electrical and thermal conductivity, and resistance to corrosion, wear, and fatigue. For example, BeCu springs "bounce back" to their original shape again and again. Beryllium is also added to aluminum, nickel, zinc, and zirconium for some applications.
Beryllium-nickel alloys are used in automobile air bags. A relatively new beryllium-aluminum alloy the registered trademark is "Beralcast" is being used in fighter planes, helicopters, and missile systems. BeO contributes hardness, strength, excellent heat conductivity, and good electrical insulation. In closely packed circuitry like that in the electronic ignition systems of automobiles , beryllium ceramic layers can draw heat away from other circuit components. Because BeO is transparent to microwaves, it has also been used in microwave ovens.
The most significant disadvantage of beryllium as an industrial material is the toxicity of its dust, fumes, and soluble salts.
Beryllium's brittleness is the down side of its advantageous stiffness. Brittleness also increases the hazards associated with beryllium's toxicity.
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