Beryllium is synthesized for the first time. The mineral from which it is extracted had been discovered thirty years earlier by Vauquelin, who analyzed crushed beryllium crystals. The essential constituents are silica, or silicon dioxide, found in sand, quartz, and amethyst, and alumina, an aluminum oxide also found in rubies and sapphires. But there is also a new oxide, which once isolated is sweet to the taste, so Vauquelin calls it glucine, containing beryllium.
