Beryllium vs. Lithium — What's the Difference?

Beryllium is a chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal.

Lithium (from Greek: λίθος, romanized: lithos, lit. 'stone') is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal.

A high-melting, lightweight, corrosion-resistant, rigid, steel-gray metallic element used as an aerospace structural material, as a moderator and reflector in nuclear reactors, and in a copper alloy used for springs, electrical contacts, and nonsparking tools. Atomic number 4; atomic weight 9.0122; melting point 1,287°C; boiling point 2,470°C; specific gravity 1.848; valence 2. See Periodic Table.

A soft, silvery, highly reactive element that is an alkali metal and is used as a heat transfer medium, in thermonuclear weapons, and in batteries, lubricants, various alloys, ceramics, and optical glass. Atomic number 3; atomic weight 6.941; melting point 180.5°C; boiling point 1,342°C; specific gravity 0.534; valence 1. See Periodic Table.

The chemical element (symbol Be) with an atomic number of 4; a soft silvery-white low density alkaline earth metal with specialist industrial applications.

Any of several salts of lithium, especially lithium carbonate.

(countable) An atom of this element.

(uncountable) The simplest alkali metal, the lightest solid element, and the third lightest chemical element (symbol Li) with an atomic number of 3. It is a soft, silvery metal.

A metallic element found in the beryl. See Glucinum.

(countable) A single atom of this element.

A light strong brittle gray toxic bivalent metallic element

Lithium carbonate or other preparations of lithium metal used to treat manic depression and bipolar disorders.

A lithium battery.

A metallic element of the alkaline group, occurring in several minerals, as petalite, spodumene, lepidolite, triphylite, etc., and otherwise widely disseminated, though in small quantities.

A soft silver-white univalent element of the alkali metal group; the lightest metal known; occurs in several minerals