Barium a day. Barium also has 10 meta states, out of which barium-133m1 is the most stable with a half-life of about 39 hours. Alchemists in the early Middle Ages knew about some barium minerals. Smooth pebble-like stones of mineral baryte were found in volcanic rock near Bologna, Italy, and so were called "Bologna stones." Alchemists were attracted to them because after exposure to light they would glow for years. The phosphorescent properties of baryte heated with organics were described by V. Casciorolus in 1602. Carl Scheele determined that baryte contained a new element in 1774, but could not isolate barium,
Nickel silver (Shadow model); these are far rarer than traditional lacquered brass saxophones. Student-level flutes and piccolos are also made of silver-plated nickel silver, although upper-level models are likely to use sterling silver. Nickel silver produes a bright and powerful sound quality; an additional benefit is that the metal is harder and has more corrosion resistance than brass. Because of its hardness, it is the most commonly used material for woodwind keys. Most clarinets, flutes, oboes and similar wind instruments have nickel silver keys, normally silver-plated. It is used to produce the tubes (called staples) onto which oboe reeds are tied. Many