Barium

Barium


Barium is the 56th element in the modern periodic table. . Its symbol is Ba and it

is located in group 2 in the periodic table. Barium is one of the alkaline earth metals. Its

name comes from the Greek word barys witch means heavy or dense. Barium is a silver-

white, highly reactive, metallic element. It has an atomic mass of 137.33 amu. The

element’s melting point is 850 ºC and the boiling point is 1537 ºC. It has a specific

gravity of 3.5 at 20ºC . Barium has a density of 3.51 g/cm³. The element’s hardness is

comparable to that of the lead. It is the only alkaline earth metal that has a body-centered

cubic crystal structure. It has a valence 2+ and has 6 energy levels. Barium is the 14th

most common element and makes up 1/2000th of the crust of Earth. Barium was

discovered in 1808 in England by Sir Humphrey Davy.

Barium is never found in nature in an element form. It reacts with almost all the

nonmetals. I...