Barium, Ac′etate of. Ba(C2H3O2). Syn. Bary′tæ ace′tas, L. Prep. From dilute sulphuric acid, neutralised with carbonate of barium, and the solution evaporated and crystallised. Very soluble in water; insoluble, or nearly so, in rectified spirit.—Uses, Dose, &c. Same as the chloride. It is seldom employed.
Barium, Arse′′niate of. Ba3(PO4)2. Syn. Bary′tæ arse′′nias, L. Prep. A solution of chloride of barium is added to another of arseniate of potassium or sodium, and the precipitate collected, washed, and dried. By dissolving this salt in a solution of arsenic acid, and crystallising, BINARSE′′NIATE OF BARIUM is obtained. Has been recommended in certain skin diseases, and in phthisis complicated with scrofula.—Dose, 1⁄16 to 1⁄4 gr.
Barium, Ar′senite of. Ba(AsO2)2. Syn. Bary′tæ ar′senis, L. Very slightly soluble.—Use, &c. As the last.
Barium, Bromide of. BaBr2. Syn. Ba′′rii bromi′dum, L.; Bromure de baryum, &c., Fr. Prep. Boil a solution of protobromide of iron with moist carbonate of barium, in slight excess; filter, evaporate to dryness, and heat the residuum to redness. By careful evaporation of its aqueous solution it may be obtained in crystals. It is soluble in both alcohol and water, and its physiological properties resemble those of iodide of barium.
Barium, Carbonate of. BaCO3. Syn. Carbonate of Bary′ta; Bary′tæ car′bonas, L.; Carbonate de baryte, &c., Fr.; Kohlensaures, baryt, &c., Ger. A heavy white mass or powder, very nearly insoluble in water, and decomposed by nearly all the acids. It is found in the crude state abundantly in nature, but can only be obtained absolutely pure by adding an alkaline carbonate to a solution of chloride of barium, or by saturating the hydrate with carbonic anhydride, and in either case washing and drying the precipitate. Native carbonate of barium (witherite) is ordered in the pharmacopœias, and is sufficiently pure for making the barium salts, the only purpose to which it is therein applied.
Uses. In pharmacy, &c., chiefly to prepare barium salts. In chemistry, to separate certain metallic oxides when occurring together in solutions. In the arts, as a base for certain delicate colours, as an ingredient in plate-glass, in the manufacture of beet sugar, &c. It is not used in medicine. It is extremely poisonous.
Barium, Bisulphide. This substance may be obtained as a fine yellow-coloured product by shaking a solution of barium chloride with a mixture of ammonium sulphide and carbon disulphide. It is insoluble in alcohol, soluble in water, and rapidly dissolved by slightly acidulated water.
Barium, Chloride of. BaCl2.2Aq. Syn. Chloride of barium; Barii chloridum, L.; Chlorure de baryum, Chlorhydrate de baryte, &c., Fr.; Salzsäure schwererde, Chlorbarium, Ger. Neutralise a hot dilute solution of hydrochloric acid with carbonate of barium, evaporate down, and crystallise. Sulphide of barium can be substituted for the carbonate. If required chemically pure, gaseous hydrochloric acid is transmitted through a concentrated solution of common or impure chloride of barium, as long as a precipitate forms; the resulting crystalline powder, which is nearly the whole of the chloride of barium present, is collected on a filter, and, after draining, is washed repeatedly with small quantities of pure hydrochloric acid, until the washings, diluted with water, and precipitated with sulphuric acid, give a filtrate which, upon evaporation in a platinum capsule or a watch-glass, leaves no residue; the last traces of acid having been removed by a little alcohol applied in a like manner, the powder is at once dried, and then carefully preserved from the air.—Used in analysis.
Prop., &c. Crystals, flat, four-sided tables, colourless and transparent; sometimes double eight-sided pyramids; slightly efflorescent in dry warm air, but otherwise permanent; decrepitate when heated, and lose their water of crystallisation; fuse at a red heat; volatilise at a white heat; insoluble in hydrochloric acid and in alcohol, slightly soluble in rectified spirit, and very soluble in water; water at 60° dissolves 431⁄2% of the crystals, and nearly 37% of the dry salt; and when boiling 75% of the former, and about 66% of the latter; a saturated boiling solution (223° Fahr.) contains 100 parts of water, and 78 parts of the crystallised salt.
The crystals contain 2 atoms of water; and a formula of BaCl2 + 2Aq.