Barium chloride extractable elements

The new element was named radium from the Latin radius meaning ray. The birthday of radium was December 26,1898. when the members of the Paris Academy of Sciences heard a report entitled On a new highly radioactive substance contained in pitchblende . The authors reported that they had managed to extract from the uranium ore tailings a substance containing a new element whose properties are very similar to those of barium. The amount of radium contained in barium chloride proved to be sufficient for recording its spectrum. This was done by the well-known French spectral analyst E. Demarcay who found a new line in the spectrum of the extracted substance. Thus, two methods—radiometry and spectroscopy—almost simultaneously substantiated the existence of a new radioactive element. 

Filter off the barium sulphate precipitate and evaporate the solution in a porcelain bowl first on a flame up to one-fourth of its initial volume, and then in a water bath until dry, Rapidly cool the hot bowl with cold water to facilitate the separation of the precipitate. Extract the hydroxylamine chloride from the solution, for which end transfer the triturated substance into a flask with a reflux condenser, pour in 30 ml of ethanol, and heat it on an electric stove with an enclosed heating element up to boiling. Pour off the liquid into a beaker and treat the solid substance again with 15 ml of ethanol. Combine the ethanol extracts, filter them through a crucible with a glass filtering bottom, and then evaporate the filtrate in a water bath up to the beginning of crystallization. 

Barium is the heaviest of the nonradioactive alkaline earth elements. The metal itself is white and unstable in air and violently reactive with water. The pure metal is, however, of limited commercial interest and the total production is not more than 40 tons/year. Barium ores in the form of sulfate or carbonate are extracted and purified by electrolysis of the chloride salt. 

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