HardAssetsInvestor

Written by Tom Vulcan  |

December 01, 2008

Beryllium: Bombs And More (Much More)

Details

HAI's enterprising rare metals reporter takes aim at beryllium, and finds a pure-play company that could be of interest.

• From bombs to power plants
• Enter the International Beryllium Corp.
• What will the stockpile do?

"When the beryllium atoms begin to kick out neutrons heavily, we'll turn on full force and see what happens ... The brilliantly incandescent beryllium suddenly turned to a strange bluish-white radiation of such dazzling intensity as to all but overpower the senses."

            —Amazing Stories (January 1935): "The World Aflame" by Isaac R. Nathanson

At the time he wrote it, Nathanson's story about atomic bombs was predominantly fantasy; in just over 10 years, however, it became dreadful reality. When Little Boy detonated over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Fat Man over Nagasaki just three days later, beryllium would be used as the tamper material that helped ensure they exploded "efficiently."

Without going into the physics in too much detail, beryllium acted in this capacity in two ways. On the one hand, it reflected back the neutrons from the fission reaction, thereby preventing leakage. On the other hand, it served as a buffer, as it were, to "push back" against the expanding fission reaction.

Now, some 63 years later, beryllium continues to be used in a similar fashion, but for peaceful purposes. In the nuclear power generation industry, beryllium is used both for blast shields and reflectors, and as a neutron moderator.

Other Uses

Element number four in the periodic table and having an atomic weight of 9.01, beryllium (Be) is the second-lightest metal we know (lithium is the first).

But even with its very low density (1.85 grams/cubic centimeter), it has a very high melting point: 1,278° C. (Lithium, on the other hand, has a very low melting point: 180.54° C.)

In other words, beryllium is a mighty tough metal. Although only two-thirds the weight of aluminum and a quarter of the weight of steel, on a kilogram-for-kilogram basis, beryllium is actually six times stronger than steel. And, in addition both to being nonmagnetic and having excellent thermal conductivity, it also remains stable over a wide range of temperatures.

Combining all these qualities, as it does, beryllium is ideally suited for a number of specialized applications, whether in the form of an alloy (accounting for around 75% of its consumption in the U.S., according to Roskill), as a pure metal, or as any one of a number of different chemical compounds, but particularly as an oxide in ceramics.

Electronics and Electrical Components

The greatest use of beryllium in alloys is in beryllium-copper alloys or "beryllium bronze." For the most part, these are usually either high-strength or high-conductivity alloys for use in circumstances in which either or both characteristics are needed.

Applications in which these alloys are found include:

• Electrical contacts and connectors in cell phones and computers
• Spot-welding electrodes
• Underwater fiber optic cable systems
• Cable and HD TV
• Very hi-fi loudspeakers

Because of its good spring properties at high temperatures, too, beryllium is also used in:

• Thermostats
• Bellows
• Sockets

With both high thermal conductivity and good electrical insulation properties, as well as resistance to chemical corrosion and high melting points, beryllium oxide ceramics are also used extensively in electronics. They are, in particular, to be found in substrates used in the computer and telecom industries and as heat sinks.