Beryllium salts are sweet in taste. But they are very toxic too. The element beryllium was once known as ‘glucine’ due to its flavour, and was represented as GI. In Greek, glucine means sweetness.
Beryllium has been in use for thousands of years. However, in the modern era, it was a scientist called Nicolas Louis Vauquelin who discovered the element for the first time in emeralds in 1798. Two scientists are credited for isolating the metal from beryl and emeralds. Friedrich Wohler and Antoine Bussy achieved the feat in 1828. And guess what? They did this independently of each other!
Beryllium’s presence can be traced in more than 100 minerals. However, extracting the element from them is not an easy task.
Adding beryllium to other metals makes them stronger. When copper is mixed with small amounts of beryllium, beryllium copper is produced. This metal is six times stronger than copper taken alone.
Beryllium appears 4th in the periodic table. Its atomic symbol is Be.
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