Search
barium [Ba]
From the Greek barys meaning heavy Discovered by British chemist Sir Humphrey Davy in 1808.
Occurrence:
1) found only in combination
2) found most often as barium carbonate & barite
3) pure barium is derived from electrolysis of barium chloride
Characteristics:
1) silver-white malleable metal of the alkaline-earth group
2) bivalent
3) oxidizes easily
4) must be stored under petroleum or oil to exclude air
5) extremely toxic when soluble (BaCl2, BaCO3)
Uses:
1) insoluble barium (BaSO4) is used as a contrast agent in radiology
2) as a 'getter' in vacuum tubes
3) glass-making
4) barite is used in drilling fluids for oil & gas exploration
5) barium carbonate is used as rat poison
6) barium nitrate & chlorate or used in green-colored fireworks
7) barium is used in spark plugs
Laboratory:
- barium in air
- barium in water
- barium in tissue
- barium in hair
- barium in body fluid
- barium in blood
- barium in serum/plasma
- barium in urine
Related
Ba+2
barium sulfate (BaSO4, Baricon, Barite)
periodic table
General
alkaline earth metal
Properties
SIZE: AW = 137.33
atomic number
VALUE: 56
VALENCE: XE 6S2
Database Correlations
PUBCHEM cid=104810
References
- Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Miriam-
Webster Inc. Springfield, MA 1990
- Chemical & Engineering News, Sept 8, 2003