Knowra Barium Barium Barium is a soft, silvery-white alkaline earth metal with atomic number 56. Its compounds are used in materials, electronics, and medical imaging, while soluble barium compounds are toxic.
Alkaline earth metals : The periodic-table group containing beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, and radium. Barium is the group’s heavy, reactive member immediately above radium.
Barium ion : The positively charged Ba²⁺ ion formed when a barium atom loses two electrons. This is the form barium takes in most salts and aqueous compounds.
Carl Wilhelm Scheele : A Swedish Pomeranian chemist who discovered or investigated numerous chemical substances in the eighteenth century. His studies of barium compounds helped establish that baryta contained a distinct substance.
Barium swallow : An X-ray examination of the upper digestive tract using swallowed barium sulfate contrast material. The insoluble sulfate coats the tract and absorbs X-rays, outlining its shape.
Barium toxicity : The harmful effects of exposure to bioavailable barium compounds, especially soluble salts. Soluble barium can disrupt potassium-dependent processes and cause serious illness.
Periodic table : A tabular arrangement of chemical elements ordered by atomic number and recurring chemical properties. Barium’s group and period locate its shared chemistry and electron structure.
Barium oxide : An inorganic compound with formula BaO, formed from barium and oxygen. It illustrates barium’s reaction with oxygen and its characteristic +2 state.
Humphry Davy : An English chemist who isolated several elements using electrolysis in the early nineteenth century. In 1808, electrolysis enabled him to isolate barium in impure form.
Barium titanate : A ferroelectric ceramic with formula BaTiO₃, used in capacitors and other electronic components. It shows how barium compounds enable high-permittivity electronic materials.
Radiocontrast agent : A substance that improves the visibility of internal structures in medical imaging. Barium sulfate is a radiopaque contrast agent for gastrointestinal X-ray studies.
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