Barium is a soft silvery-white metal. The name of the element comes from the Greek word ‘barys’, meaning ‘heavy’. It is not generally found in nature in its pure form. Only compounds of the metal are available in the earth’s crust. Even though barium compounds were discovered in the 17th century itself, it was Humphry Davy who first isolated the metal in 1808.
Barium has a wide range of uses. The element is used in rat poison and oil drilling fluids. Barium has important diagnostic utilities too. Patients suffering from digestive problems are given a non-toxic mixture that contains barium before an x-ray. This mixture shows up clearly on x-rays, allowing doctors to locate and diagnose the problem.
An average adult human body contains about 22 mg of barium. Various vegetables that we consume everyday such as carrots, onions and beans contain barium. While barium does not build up in the body and is not a carcinogen, breathing its dust is unhealthy.
In the late nineteenth century, barium’s key commercial use was in the production of pure oxygen. The atomic number of barium is 56 and its atomic symbol is Ba.
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