Barium atomic properties

After the Curies, with the assistance of M. G. Bemont, had carried out many laborious fractionations of barium chloride, they found that the most insoluble fractions were the most radioactive. In the course of her experiments Mme. Curie had learned that radioactivity is an atomic property depending solely on the quantity of active element present." For this reason the presence of another active element was suspected, and the radioactive barium chloride was therefore submitted to M. Demarcay for spectroscopic examination. He detected a new line in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum, and certain other lines, all of which were most distinct in the most radioactive preparations, and, as fractionation proceeded, the barium lines became fainter and fainter (23, 28, 52). 

The main physical property of barium which is exploited commercially is its density. Barium concrete is produced using a relatively high concentration of barium compounds to form a material which is very absorptive of radiation and may be used as a radiation shield in reactors. Barium plaster, analogous to the concrete, is used to line hospital and experimental X-ray rooms to absorb radiation and to minimize back scattering. The major use of barium in medicine is as a contrast medium in which role the dense barium atom is X-ray opaque and is used to outline the structure of a hollow organ in the body. 

We reported earlier the first-principles study on the crystal structure and hydraulic activity of P- and y-form belites (Sakurada et al. 2009a, 2009b). In this chapter, we present our DFT simulation results on the study of hydraulic properties of cement phases. Ca-Ca, Ca-0, and Si-0 bond lengths are chosen as a yardstick for making reliable prediction on the hydraulic activity of p- and Y-C2S phases. Moreover, to find a change in crystal structure of P-C2S on substitution of the strontium atom or barium atom for a calcium atom, a periodic boundary condition has been applied on a large supercell (504 atoms, a x 3, b x 3, c x 2) to remove any spurious interactions. 

In other applications of CT, orally administered barium sulfate or a water-soluble iodinated CM is used to opacify the GI tract. Xenon, atomic number 54, exhibits similar x-ray absorption properties to those of iodine. It rapidly diffuses across the blood brain barrier after inhalation to saturate different tissues of brain as a function of its lipid solubility. In preliminary investigations (99), xenon gas inhalation prior to brain CT has provided useful information for evaluations of local cerebral blood flow and cerebral tissue abnormalities. Xenon exhibits an anesthetic effect at high concentrations but otherwise is free of physiological effects because of its nonreactive nature. 

As the number of elements increased, so did attempts to organize them into meaningful relationships. Johann Dobereiner (1780-1849) discovered in 1829 that certain elements had atomic masses and properties that fell approximately mid-way between the masses and properties of two other elements. Dobereiner termed a set of three elements a triad. Thus, chlorine, bromine, and iodine form a triad Dobereiner proposed several other triads (lithium-sodium-potassium, calcium-strontium-barium). Dobereiner recognized that there was some sort of relationship between elements, but many elements did not fit in any triad group, and even those triads proposed displayed numerous inconsistencies. 

However, other scientists had also attempted to categorise the known elements. In 1817, Johann Dobereiner noticed that the atomic weight (now called atomic mass) of strontium fell midway between the weights of calcium and barium. These were elements which possessed similar chemical properties. They formed a triad of elements. Other triads were also discovered, composed of ... 

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