Thermal Grease

[Scott Johnson]

I am not speaking of BeCu, rather beryllium metal.  I am well aware of BeCu,
and BeO, as I utilize them in my work.  It is prudent to take care with all
beryllium compounds, as they are all toxic to some degree, and personal
sensitivities vary. I got a BeCu sliver in the corner of my eye years ago,
and it swelled like someone smacked me.  BeO dust from machining can be very
dangerous. Normal handling should not be a problem.  BTW, does anyone know
the story of the USAF experiment with a B-36 carrying a nuclear reactor back
in the fifties? Gret story about the hazards of beryllium.

Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Fuqua" <wlfuqu00 at UKY.EDU>
To: <BOATANCHORS at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV>
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2004 1:08 PM
Subject: Re: Thermal Grease


> There is a difference between the common Beryllium Copper and BeO.
> BeO has a very large percentage of Beryllium in it while Beryllium Copper
> has only a
> few percent. Grinding is a real no no.
> Chunks are fairly harmless unless you get  a sliver under the skin and
> still then not
> terribly bad  as compared to inhaling BeO dust.  Switches spring contacts,
> finger stock and such often
> are made of Beryllium Copper alloy.
>
> 73
> Bill wa4lav
>
> At 01:34 PM 11/4/2004 -0500, J. Forster wrote:
>>Scott Johnson wrote:
>>
>> > I have seen ZnO in silicone grease, Indium washers, BeO washers, plain
>> > silicone grease, and ZnO in petroleum grease, but NEVER BeO grease.
>> > Some
>> > space hardware does, however make use of beryllium metal (it is light
>> > and a
>> > good thermal conductor) as a backplane material.  It was used in
>> > Motorola's
>> > Iridium program.
>> > Scott
>>
>>Beryllium metal particles are very toxic and very special machining
>>techniques
>>are needed for any dust producing operations, but a chunk of the metal is
>>essentially harmless and does not require special handling. I've used it
>>for
>>optics (mirrors) and gyroscope components.
>>
>>-John
>>
>>-----------------------------------------------------------
>>This list is a public service of the City of Tempe, Arizona
>>-----------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>Subscription control -
>>http://www.tempe.gov/lists/control.asp?list=BOATANCHORS
>>To post - BOATANCHORS at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV
>>Archives - http://interactive.tempe.gov/archives/BOATANCHORS.html
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> This list is a public service of the City of Tempe, Arizona
> -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subscription control -
> http://www.tempe.gov/lists/control.asp?list=BOATANCHORS
> To post - BOATANCHORS at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV
> Archives - http://interactive.tempe.gov/archives/BOATANCHORS.html

-----------------------------------------------------------
This list is a public service of the City of Tempe, Arizona
-----------------------------------------------------------

Subscription control - http://www.tempe.gov/lists/control.asp?list=BOATANCHORS
To post - BOATANCHORS at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV
Archives - http://interactive.tempe.gov/archives/BOATANCHORS.html