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This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table #IYPT2019. To mark the occasion we will be sharing stories and information about some of the elements crucial for the operation of our facility and central to the research done here. First up - Beryllium👇
Symbol Be, 4th element in the table - Beryllium is a strange element. It's a light and surprisingly unreactive metal with v. high melting point, and low thermal expansion. Also, it is transparent to X-rays. If it wasn't so toxic, it could be really useful for many things.
In fact, these strange properties make Beryllium very useful for @EuropeanXFEL. Here it is used to make windows for beamline components that have to be kept airtight, so X-rays pass through while other particles are kept out, and to make special lenses that focus X-rays. 
And all whilst remaining unaffected by the extreme heat and the energy of the intense @EuropeanXFEL X-ray beam. Read more about this fascinating element and what it means for facilities such as @EuropeanXFEL in this @SciInSchool article 👉bit.ly/2MCZ1Uf
We'll be posting more stories about elements at @EuropeanXFEL regularly throughout the year. Keep a look out for more 🤓 💫
