Barium hydroxide, it absorbs very little CO in aqueous solutions and is therefore insensitive to atmospheric fluctuations. This property is used in calibrating pH equipment. Volatile barium compounds burn with a green to pale green flame, which is an efficient test to detect a barium compound. The color results from spectral lines at 455.4, 493.4, 553.6, and 611.1 nm. Organobarium compounds are a growing field of knowledge: recently discovered are dialkylbariums and alkylhalobariums. Barium found in the Earth's crust is a mixture of seven primordial nuclides, barium-130, 132, and 134 through 138. Barium-130 undergoes very slow radioactive decay to xenon-130 by
Barium hydroxide used, as well, in the decarboxylation of amino acids liberating barium carbonate in the process. It is also used in the preparation of cyclopentanone, diacetone alcohol and -Gulonic γ-lactone. Barium hydroxide decomposes to barium oxide when heated to 800 °C. Reaction with carbon dioxide gives barium carbonate. Its aqueous solution, being highly alkaline, undergoes neutralization reactions with acids. Thus, it forms barium sulfate and barium phosphate with sulfuric and phosphoric acids, respectively. Reaction with hydrogen sulfide produces barium sulfide. Precipitation of many insoluble, or less soluble barium salts, may result from double replacement reaction when a barium hydroxide aqueous solution