Beryllium is steel gray, light (density is 1.848 g/cm3), hard, and it is easy to form a dense oxide protective layer on the surface in the air, so it is relatively stable at room temperature. Beryllium has a melting point of 1285°C, much higher than other light metals (magnesium, aluminum). Therefore, beryllium-containing alloys are light, hard, and resistant to high temperatures, and are ideal materials for manufacturing aviation and aerospace equipment. For example, the use of beryllium alloys to make rocket casings can greatly reduce the weight; the use of beryllium alloys to make artificial satellites and spacecraft can ensure the safety of flight.

“Fatigue” is a common problem of general metals. For example, a long-term load-bearing wire rope will break due to “fatigue”, and a spring will lose its elasticity due to “fatigue” if it is repeatedly compressed and relaxed. Metal beryllium has anti-fatigue function. For example, add about 1% metal beryllium to molten steel. The spring made of this alloy steel can stretch 14 million times continuously without losing elasticity due to “fatigue”, even in the state of “red heat” Without losing its flexibility, it can be described as “indomitable”. If about 2% metal beryllium is added to bronze, the tensile strength and elasticity of this copper beryllium alloy are no different from steel. Therefore, beryllium is known as the “fatigue-resistant metal”.

Another important feature of metal beryllium is that it does not spark when it hits, so copper-nickel alloys containing beryllium are often used to make “non-fire” drills, hammers, knives and other tools, which are specially used for the processing of flammable and explosive materials.

Metal beryllium also has the property of being transparent to radiation. Taking X-rays as an example, the ability to penetrate beryllium is 20 times stronger than that of lead and 16 times stronger than that of copper. Therefore, metal beryllium has the reputation of “metal glass”, and beryllium is often used to make “windows” of X-ray tubes.

Metal beryllium also has a good function of transmitting sound. The propagation speed of sound in metal beryllium is as high as 12,600 m/s, which is much higher than the speed of sound in air (340 m/s), water (1500 m/s) and steel (5200 m/s). favored by the musical instrument industry.