Discovery of barium

In 1772 the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele recognised that the heavy mineral barite, also called heavy spar, contained an unknown earth, which came to be called baryta. The name derives from the Greek barys, meaning heavy, and the element was named barium after it. Scheele was unable to isolate the metal itself. This was done in 1808 by the English chemist Humphry Davy, who used electrolysis on moist baryta. Barium itself is a soft, silvery, highly reactive metal, but its compounds are widely used. Barium sulfate is opaque to X-rays and is swallowed as a suspension to make the digestive tract visible, while it is also used in drilling fluids for oil wells. Soluble barium salts are poisonous.

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