Barium

Discovered by Sir Humphrey Davy of England in 1808, barium is a soft metal element. It is a beautiful silvery white when in its true form. It oxidizes quickly, and has to be stored in petroleum and other oxygen free liquids. Oxygen is not the only thing it reacts to, however- it also decomposes in water and alcohol, and its compounds are soluble in any waters or acids that are poisonous.

Fun Fact: The word was derived from the Greek word 'barys', meaning heavy/dense.

Barium has a few uses including vacuum tubes, pigments, paints, glass-making, the manufacturing of rubber, rat poison, and in pyrotechnics (fireworks). Barium is only found mixed in with other minerals- most commonly in barite, sulfate and witherite.