barium phosphide chemical formula, Ba3(PO4)2, is an inorganic salt that is used in the production of glasses and pulsed lasers. It is a colourless compound that has a high thermal expansion coefficient and melting point.

Barium is a chemical element found in the earth and is part of Group 2 (IIa) of the periodic table. It is most commonly mined as the mineral barite (BaSO4), but it also occurs in a number of minerals such as pyrolusite and witherite.

It is the second most abundant alkaline-earth metal after silicon, with an atomic weight of 56. It is a relatively heavy metal, and it was discovered by Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1774.

The chemistry of barium is dominated by the metal’s oxide forms, mainly sulfate and carbonate. The sulfate form, BaSO4, is the most common commercially available. The carbonate, BaCO3, is primarily used in the manufacture of specialty glass. It increases the refractive index of glass, and it provides radiation shielding in cathode-ray and television tubes.

In metallurgy, barium is used as a “getter” to remove unwanted gases from metals, and it is alloyed with aluminum and silicon in load-bearing alloys. It is also used in radiology, as a contrast medium for X-rays.

Various other barium compounds are also used in pyrotechnics and petroleum production. It is also a proton-conducting material in fuel sensors.

A particularly crystalline form of barium was discovered near Bologna in Italy by Sir Humphry Davy in the early seventeenth century, and it was not isolated until 1808. The element itself is never free in nature, since it reacts with oxygen in the air and water to produce barium hydroxide and hydrogen gas.