Clinical application of beryllium lymphocyte proliferation testing.

Because of its unique properties, beryllium has become widely used in a variety of industrial applications, including inertial guidance systems, turbine rotor blades, laser tubes, rocket engine liners, springs, aircraft brakes and landing gear, ball bearings, injection and blow mold tooling, electrical contacts, automotive electronics, X-ray tube windows, spark plugs, electrical components, ceramic applications, gears, aircraft engines, oil and gas industries, welding electrodes, computer electronics, and golf clubs. It is extremely light, with a high modulus of elasticity (stiffness), a low coefficient of thermal expansion, high thermal and electrical conductivities, and a high melting point. Pure beryllium metal is useful in the nuclear industry as a moderator to slow neutrons, increasing the effectiveness of fission. More frequently, it is formulated as an alloy or an oxide.