Here we are at week four and the turn of Beryllium, with its chemical symbol Be. What a nice name - I love the sound of it - so exotic. When it was first discovered, because of its sweetness it was called Glucinum - a name which came from glucose. Tasting chemicals is a really bad idea - in the past lots of chemists have died as a result of tasting and even working carelessly with chemicals which turned out to be poisonous. Beryllium is no exception - its salts are toxic and should never be tasted.
The name Beryllium came from the Beryl, the mineral name of a range of gemstones which contain Beryllium and include Emeralds and Aquamarine. Beryl is a molecule made up of Beryllium, Aluminium, Silicon and Oxygen atoms
Emerald 
AquamarineAquamarine is a relatively common gemstone and is said to be the birth stone for March.
Emerald is quite rare and therefore a valuable gemstone. It is the birth stone for May.
If any of you have earrings, rings or bracelets with aquamarine or emeralds in them then you have a few Beryllium atoms!
Beryllium is quite rare. It doesn't exist naturally on its own but when scientists separate it from Beryl it is a strong gray metal. Because Beryllium metal doesn't get much bigger or smaller when it is heated or cooled it is ideal for using on planes and rockets.
Beryllium is number 4 on the periodic table and has 4 electrons orbiting its nucleus. These 2 pairs of 2 electrons make it quite happy so it is not a reactive element. It does sometimes give away its outer 2 electrons to atoms of elements such as chlorine which are very keen to fill up their outer electron shell.
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