1 82 Miracles Ahead! 



1797, but it remained a "textbook metal" for many years. 

 Finally the German firm of Siemens Halske began examining 

 this metal; and in the United States, Andrew J. Gahagan and 

 J. Kent Smith went to work on it. After two years' work 

 they discovered that copper, a soft metal, became harder than 

 steel if 2 per cent of beryllium was added and a heat treat- 

 ment employed. 



Other qualities besides toughness are making beryllium- 

 copper useful in industry. Because they won't strike sparks, 

 beryllium-copper hammers, chisels, wrenches, bars, are used 

 around explosives and in oil refineries and grain elevators. 

 The alloy's resistance to rust makes it valuable for machines 

 that must function perfectly in damp climates. 



Another alloy, beryllium-nickel, is superior to beryllium- 

 copper. The Germans have the jump on us in making this 

 product, but our metallurgists are certain to catch up. Great 

 hope is held for experiments seeking to combine beryllium 

 with the light metals aluminum and magnesium to produce 

 the best of all structural materials. 



"Powder Metallurgy" 



"Powder metallurgy" has been outstanding as a saver of 

 materials and time in the production of metal parts for war 

 equipment. In this process two or more powdered metals are 

 put in a mold and then pressed into a "briquette." The "bri- 

 quette" is firm but can be easily broken until it is put in a 

 "sintering" furnace and baked. Although the temperature in 

 the furnace is below the melting point of the metals, the pow- 

 der particles are in some mysterious way fastened tightly 

 together. 



American-made tanks, guns, planes, ships, radios, trucks, 

 and locomotives are using parts of many shapes and sizes, and 

 ranging in weight from less than one ounce to sixty-five 



