Abstract In the early 17th century,the existence of heavy spar was discovered through its phosphorescence phenomenon.In 1774,Swedish chemist Scheele proved that barite is a substance different from gypsum.At the end of the 18th century,French chemist Lavoisier predicted that heavy soil and other soils were not simple substances.In the early 19th century,British chemist David successfully extracted a metal from heavy soil and named it“Barium”,marking the initial formation of the concept of barium element.Afterwards,the proposal of scientific atomism and the measurement of barium atomic weight further developed the concept of barium element at the microscopic level.In the 20th century,the discovery of isotopes facilitated the formation of the modern concept of barium element.In summary,the development history of the concept of barium is not only the discovery history of people’s understanding,preparation,and definition of barium elements,but also the progress history of modern scientific theories,ideas,and research methods.
WANG Jiang-Xian, ZHAO Shuang, YUAN Xing-Cheng. Discovery of Barium and Development of Its Concept[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Education, 2025, 46(4): 126-129.
