Barium fluoride Barium fluoride Barium fluoride (BaF) is a chemical compound of barium and fluorine and is a salt. It is a solid which can be a transparent crystal. It occurs in nature as the mineral frankdicksonite. The solid adopts the fluorite structure and at high pressure the PbCl structure. In the vapor phase the BaF molecule is non-linear with an F-Ba-F angle of approximately 108°. This is an exception to VSEPR theory which would predict a linear structure. Ab initio calculations have been cited to propose that contributions from d orbitals in the shell below the valence shell are responsible. Another
Chemical element "Sb" (stibium) for antimony. Chemical symbols are understood internationally when element names might require translation. There have sometimes been differences in the past. For example, Germans in the past have used "J" (for the alternate name Jod) for iodine, but now use "I" and "Iod". The first letter of a chemical symbol is always capitalized, as in the preceding examples, and the subsequent letters, if any, are always lower case (small letters). Thus, the symbols for californium and einsteinium are Cf and Es. There are also symbols in chemical equations for groups of chemical elements, for example in comparative formulas.