Re: ATM What is Beryllium?

[andydtg@phoenix.net]

Re:

>My question is what exactly is beryllium and how come it is so strong?No
>doubt the price will be high,but is it a metal or a ceramic?

Beryllium is an elemental metal, *very* expensive and *highly* toxic.
It has the highest strength/weight ratio of any simple alloy metal.
It cannot be melted & cast, has to be compressed as a powder under
intense heat/pressure to make a sintered (porous) solid. It's machined
by remote control as the metal and its oxide are extremely toxic. It's
used for aerospace optics because of its lightness and ability to
be formed ito complex shapes, mirrors are produced by coating the
surface with "Kanigen" (a nickel/copper alloy I think) that can be
polished & aluminized. It's also used in fission reactors as a moderator
and commerce in it is restricted for that reason. 

Substantial parts of the Apollo program guidance system structural components
were made of beryllium because of it's weight/strength ratio. It was
'passivated' with a plastic coating. The Space Shuttle guidance system
also uses this metal. In space applications, its high cost is more than offset
by the weight savings which, in a payload, are multiplied hundreds of times
in savings in booster and fuel weight.

DON'T EVER TRY TO USE THIS STUFF SHOULD YOU EVER FIND ANY IN A PIECE
OF SURPLUS. IT *WILL* KILL YOU IF YOU GET EVEN A LITTLE BIT INSIDE YOU!!!

IT CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY IT'S MATTE GRAY COLOR, POROUS APPEARENCE, AND 
MAGNESIUM-LIKE LIGHT WEIGHT.








Andy Saulietis / DTG Alt-Az-Fp Drive Systems
12617 Harriet Ln
Santa Fe, TX 77510 USA
409-925-8854 Voice/Fax