Barium

Definition

Barium is a chemical component. It has the symbol Ba, and atomic number 56. Barium is a soft silvery metallic alkaline earth metal. It is never establish in nature in its pure form due to its reactivity with air. Its oxide is historically known as baryta but it reacts with water and carbon dioxide and is not found as a mineral. The most ordinary naturally occurring minerals are the very insoluble barium sulfate, BaSO4 , and barium carbonate, BaCO3. Benitoite is a rare gem containing barium.

Properties

Barium is a soft and yielding metal. Its simple compounds are distinguished for their relatively high specific gravity. This is true of the most common barium-bearing mineral, its sulfate barite BaSO4, also called 'heavy spar' due to the high density.

World Resources

Barium

Application

  1. Barium nitrate and chlorate provide green colors in fireworks.
  2. Barium titanate was proposed in 2007 to be used in next generation battery technology for electric cars.
  3. Barium fluoride is used for optics in infrared applications, since it is transparent from about 0.15 to 12 microns.