Term: barium (Ba)
Literally
meaning: “pertaining
to heavy”
Origin: Anc Greek
βαρύς/varys(=heavy)
The element was called barium because it is found in baryte(BaSO4), a mineral
which had been given its name because of its high
Coined/History
Barium was first isolated by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) through the electrolysis of molten baryta (BaO),
similar to the method he used to isolate strontium.
Definition
Barium is a chemical
element with atomic number 56 and atomic mass 137.33. It is a soft, silvery-white
metal which is never found in nature since it reacts with oxygen in the air
forming BaO and with water, forming Ba(OH)2 and hydrogen gas. Barium has among
others many medical applications. It is used also in vacuum tubes to remove the
last traces of gases.
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