Beryllium Memes

The ultimate scientific sacrifice play! Top panel shows a lab technician risking berylliosis (a nasty lung disease caused by beryllium dust inhalation) just to watch a metal ball oscillate at kilohertz frequencies. Meanwhile, bottom panel features James Webb Space Telescope engineer Michael Menzel who used beryllium for the telescope's mirrors—potentially exposing the team to the same health risks, but for arguably more noble reasons: creating humanity's most powerful eye into the cosmos. The perfect encapsulation of risk assessment in science—is your experiment worth potential lung damage? For JWST, history will say yes. For watching a bouncy ball? Maybe reconsider your experimental priorities!

The classic scientific trade-off: risking berylliosis (a nasty lung disease from beryllium exposure) for either watching metal balls vibrate at kilohertz frequencies or building the James Webb Space Telescope. Scientific progress marches on—through questionable safety protocols! The top researcher gets his kicks from a bouncy metal ball while the bottom one (who looks suspiciously like JWST scientist John Mather) built a $10 billion telescope using the same dangerous material. Different goals, same respiratory hazard. The things we do for science would make OSHA representatives weep.