beryllium: Meaning and Definition of

be•ryl•li•um

Pronunciation: (bu-ril'ē-um), [key]
— n. Chem.
  1. a steel-gray, bivalent, hard, light, metallic element, the salts of which are sweet: used chiefly in copper alloys for better fatigue endurance, in springs, and in electrical contacts. Symbol: Be; at. wt.: 9.0122; at. no.: 4; sp. gr.: 1.8 at 20° C.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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