Barium green color. Barium sulfate is used as an insoluble additive to oil well drilling fluid, as well as in a purer form, as X-ray radiocontrast agents for imaging the human gastrointestinal tract. The soluble barium ion and soluble compounds are poisonous, and have been used as rodenticides. Barium is a soft, silvery-white metal, with a slight golden shade when ultrapure. The silvery-white color of barium metal rapidly vanishes upon oxidation in air yielding a dark gray oxide layer. Barium has a medium specific weight and good electrical conductivity. Ultrapure barium is very difficult to prepare, and therefore many properties of
Potassium chlorate chlorate can react with sulfuric acid to form a highly reactive solution of chloric acid and potassium sulfate: The solution so produced is sufficiently reactive that it spontaneously ignites if combustible material (sugar, paper, etc.) is present. In schools, molten potassium chlorate is used in the dramatic screaming jelly babies demonstration. In chemical labs it is used to oxidize HCl and release small amounts of gaseous chlorine. Insurgents in Afghanistan also use potassium chlorate extensively as a key component in the production of improvised explosive devices. When significant effort was made to reduce the availability of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in