Beryllium - Periodic Table of Videos
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the presenter discusses beryllium, a rare and toxic metal with unique properties. Notably, it is transparent to X-rays, making it ideal for X-ray experiments. The video details the use of beryllium in creating a controlled environment for sensitive compounds, allowing X-rays to interact with samples without interference. Despite its high cost and health risks, beryllium's application in chemistry is highlighted, emphasizing the need for caution when handling this hazardous material.
Takeaways
- 🛡️ The instrument has a dome-shaped device made of beryllium to control the atmosphere inside.
- ⚠️ Beryllium is toxic and can cause berylliosis, an industrial lung disease, if inhaled.
- 🌐 Beryllium is transparent to X-rays, which is why it's used in X-ray experiments.
- 🔬 X-rays are absorbed by most materials, but beryllium allows them to pass through without interaction.
- 🧪 The beryllium dome is used to encase sensitive compounds for X-ray absorption experiments.
- 📚 Beryllium chloride is a linear molecule with beryllium in the center and two chlorine atoms.
- 🏗️ Beryllium's atomic number is 4, making it lightweight and ideal for X-ray applications.
- 💸 The cost of beryllium is significant; a small sample can cost up to 15,000 Euros.
- 🔬 Beryllium's low atomic number means X-rays are not scattered much when passing through it.
- ⚒️ Handling beryllium requires extreme caution to avoid toxic exposure and reactions.
Q & A
What is the primary function of the dome-shaped device made of beryllium?
-The primary function of the dome-shaped device made of beryllium is to control the atmosphere inside it and allow X-rays to pass through without absorption, which is crucial for X-ray experiments on sensitive compounds.
Why is beryllium metal considered toxic?
-Beryllium metal is toxic because it can cause berylliosis, an industrial lung disease, when inhaled as dust. It leads to the formation of swollen nodules in the lungs called granulomas.
What makes beryllium unique among other metals?
-Beryllium is unique because it is transparent to X-rays and does not absorb them, unlike most other metals, especially those with higher molecular weights.
Where is beryllium located in the periodic table?
-Beryllium is located near the beginning of the periodic table.
What is the significance of beryllium's atomic number?
-Beryllium has an atomic number of 4, which means it is a lightweight element. This lightness allows X-rays to pass through it without significant interaction.
Why is beryllium used in X-ray diffractometers?
-Beryllium is used in X-ray diffractometers because of its low atomic number and lightweight, which allows X-rays to pass through without scattering, providing clear images.
What is the cost of the beryllium sample mentioned in the script?
-The cost of the small beryllium sample mentioned is 15,000 Euros.
How does beryllium compare to other materials in terms of X-ray interaction?
-Beryllium is much less likely to scatter X-rays compared to heavier materials. It is likened to shining light through a glass window, whereas a heavy material would scatter X-rays like shining through paper.
What precautions are necessary when handling beryllium?
-When handling beryllium, one must be very careful not to breathe in the dust, as even a single exposure can cause a sensitive reaction. Additionally, it is advised not to touch the beryllium with bare hands and then touch one's mouth.
What is the arrangement of atoms in beryllium chloride?
-In beryllium chloride, the three atoms (two chlorine atoms and one beryllium atom) are arranged in a straight line, making it a linear molecule.
What is the purpose of the 'magic box' made of beryllium around the sample during X-ray experiments?
-The 'magic box' made of beryllium is used to remove air from around the sample, allowing X-rays to interact with the sample without interference from the surrounding material.
Outlines
🔬 Beryllium's Unique Properties and Hazards
The paragraph discusses the special dome-shaped device on an instrument made from beryllium, a toxic metal with unique properties. Beryllium is transparent to X-rays, allowing it to be used in X-ray experiments without absorbing the radiation. Despite its usefulness in scientific experiments, especially with sensitive compounds, beryllium is hazardous due to its toxicity, which can cause berylliosis, an industrial lung disease. The speaker emphasizes the importance of handling beryllium with care to avoid exposure to its dust.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Beryllium
💡X-rays
💡Berylliosis
💡Dome-shaped device
💡Toxic chemical
💡Chemical properties
💡Linear molecule
💡X-ray diffractometers
💡Periodic table
💡Sensitive compound
💡Cost
Highlights
The instrument has a dome-shaped device made of beryllium to control the atmosphere inside.
Beryllium is toxic and must be handled with care.
Beryllium is transparent to X-rays, making it ideal for certain scientific applications.
Beryllium-laden dust can cause berylliosis, an industrial lung disease.
Beryllium is rarely encountered despite being near the beginning of the periodic table.
Beryllium is used in X-ray experiments to control the atmosphere around sensitive compounds.
Beryllium's atomic number is 4, making it lightweight and ideal for X-ray applications.
Beryllium allows X-rays to pass through without interaction, which is crucial for sensitive chemistry.
The beryllium sample used in the experiment costs 15,000 Euros.
Beryllium's low atomic number means X-rays are not scattered much when interacting with it.
Beryllium is used in X-ray diffractometers due to its light weight and atomic properties.
Beryllium chloride is a linear molecule with beryllium atoms arranged in a row.
Beryllium is very poisonous, and even one exposure can cause a sensitive reaction in some people.
Chemists must be cautious not to breathe in beryllium dust or lick their fingers after handling it.
Beryllium's unique properties make it valuable for advanced chemistry experiments.
The beryllium dome on the instrument is a special vessel for controlling the atmosphere inside.
Beryllium's transparency to X-rays is a key feature for its use in scientific instruments.
Transcripts
So you can see on the front of this instrument is a dome shaped device. That dome is a special
vessel which is made so we can control the atmosphere inside and it is fabricated from
beryllium metal.
This is the beryllium which I don’t really want to get out.
Why not?
Well, because it is a toxic chemical, a toxic metal.
Beryllium is an interesting element because most chemists don’t really know about it
very much at all.
So beryllium is a fantastic metal, it is really, really interesting, it’s got really lots
of strange metallic properties, but one of the most important to me is that it is transparent
to x-rays. So I can shine x-rays straight through the beryllium and the beryllium does
not absorb it at all which most other metals especially those with higher molecular weights
do.
Beryllium-laden dust has been shown to cause berylliosis which is actually an industrial
lung disease which causes the formation of swollen nodules in the lungs called granulomas
which is a bit gross, so I don’t really want to open up the jar.
It’s near the beginning of the periodic table, but we rarely come across it.
So at the moment we are at Matt’s lab and we are doing some x-ray experiments on a really,
really quite sensitive compound. So X-rays themselves are absorbed by everything, ok,
so when we shoot it through the air it is absorbed by the air, so to measure the x-ray
absorption of our compound which is sensitive to the air we need to be able to remove the
air and encase it so we use beryllium to make a magic box around our sample, that the x-rays
can come into, interact with our sample, and then exit without interacting with the material
around them. So you can see on the front of this instrument, there is a dome shaped device,
that dome, is a special vessel which is made so that we could control the atmosphere inside
and it is fabricated from beryllium metal.
I talk about in my lectures, I explain that beryllium chloride the molecule that has three
atoms, two chlorine atoms and one beryllium atom, has the three atoms arranged in the
row, so it is a straight molecule so called linear molecule. I have never seen beryllium
chloride.
Chemists use it on x-ray defractometers because actually it is so lightweight it is actually
got atomic number 4.
The beryllium allows the x-rays to come in and out without interacting at all. It is
a fantastic device it is really useful for really sensitive chemistry, it is a really
beautiful application. The cost of that beryllium though, that is significant, that small beryllium
sample cost 15,000 Euros.
It only has four protons and a number of neutrons so if x-rays fall on atoms of beryllium they
are not scattered very much so it’s like the difference between shining light through
a glass window and if you made it out of a heavy material it would be like, shining through
paper, it would be scattered you wouldn’t get a good image.
I’m hoping to actually do some chemistry with beryllium which is why I’ve bought
it. It is pretty toxic so we are going to have to be very, very careful. You can’t
actually breathe in the dust at all, cause even actually one exposure has shown with
some people one exposure is enough to cause this sort of sensitive reaction.
But beryllium is very poisonous so if you do use these beryllium windows, you have to
be careful not to lick your fingers. Well good chemists shouldn’t lick their fingers
anyway.
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