Barium essays

Barium essays Barium (BAR-i-em) is the fifty-sixth element on the periodic table. The solids melting point is 1340.6 degrees fahrenheit while its boiling point is 3446.6 degrees fahrenheit. Its density is 3.62 grams per cubic centimeter. The name barium came from the word barys, which means heavy in Greek. The element barium was first isolated by Sir Humphry Davy, a British chemist, in 1808. Davy founded it through the electrolysis of molten baryta. It is never found free in nature since it reacts with oxygen in the air (which forms (BaO)), water which forms (Ba(OH)2)), and hydrogen gas (which forms (H2)). Barium is most commonly found as the mineral barite (BaSO4) and witherite (BaCO3) and is primarily produced through the electrolysis of barium chloride (BaCl2). The element can combine and mix with many other elements including sulfate, zinc oxide, carbon, nitrate, chloride, peroxide, and titanate. Barium has many different uses, especially when combined with other things. For example, when you combine it with sulfate to make barium sulfate, you can use it as a filler for rubber, plastics and resins, or if you combine it with carbon, making it barium carbonate, you can use it to manufacture creamics and some types of glass. Stones made from impure barium sulfate glow when exposed to light and will glow in the dark for up to six years if intensely heated in the presence of charcoal. These stones, were discovered near Bologna, Italy in the early 1500s and were thought to possess magical properties. All barium compounds are poisonous, but barium sulfate can be safetly ingested since it doesnt dissolve in water. It is also a good absorber of X-rays and, when swallowed, can be used to produce X-ray images of the intestinal tract. Finally, you can use barium in making rubber and creating rat poison. ...