'Barium' definitions:
Definition of 'barium'
From: WordNet
noun
A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group; found in barite [syn: barium, Ba, atomic number 56]
Definition of 'Barium'
From: GCIDE
- Barium \Ba"ri*um\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. bary`s heavy.] (Chem.) One of the elements, belonging to the alkaline earth group; a metal having a silver-white color, and melting at a very high temperature. It is difficult to obtain the pure metal, from the facility with which it becomes oxidized in the air. Atomic weight, 137. Symbol, Ba. Its oxide called baryta. [Rarely written barytum.] [1913 Webster]
- Note: Some of the compounds of this element are remarkable for their high specific gravity, as the sulphate, called heavy spar, and the like. The oxide was called barote, by Guyton de Morveau, which name was changed by Lavoisier to baryta, whence the name of the metal. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Barium'
From: Elements
- Symbol: Ba
- Atomic number: 56
- Atomic weight: 137.34
- Silvery-white reactive element, belonging to group 2 of the periodic table. Soluble barium compounds are extremely poisonous. Identified in 1774 by Karl Scheele and extracted in 1808 by Humphry Davy.