Beryllium is a very shy snake who likes to
ball up and throw hissy fits. She is not mean, however, and once she no
longer feels threatened, she will uncoil and begin looking for the nearest
dark, cramped space.
The Element
Raw beryllium is toxic to humans, but its
naturally-occurring crystalline compounds produce the mineral beryl,
which comes in several varieties, including emerald and aquamarine.
The optical bench for NIRCAM (Near-Infrarad CAMera) on the James Webb Space
Telescope is made of beryllium.