Not much to see here... I am a Catholic with Master's degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Theology.
I agree to multi-license all my contributions, with the exception of my user pages, as described below:
Multi-licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License versions 1.0 and 2.0
|
I agree to multi-license my text contributions, unless otherwise stated, under Wikipedia's copyright terms and the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license version 1.0 and version 2.0. Please be aware that other contributors might not do the same, so if you want to use my contributions under the Creative Commons terms, please check the CC dual-license and Multi-licensing guides.
|
Baryte is a mineral consisting of
barium sulfate (BaSO
4). Generally white or colorless, it is the main source of the element
barium, an
alkaline earth metal. It is found across the world and can be deposited through biogenic and hydrothermal processes or evaporation. Early records of baryte date to the 16th century, when a radiating form gained notoriety among
alchemists for specimens found near
Bologna, Italy.
Carl Wilhelm Scheele determined that baryte contained a new element in 1774, but elemental barium was not isolated until 1808 by
Humphry Davy, using electrolysis of molten barium salts. Modern uses of baryte include oil and gas drilling, oxygen and sulfur isotopic analysis, and
radiometric dating. These crystals of baryte on a
dolomite crystal
matrix was found at Cerro Warihuyn in
Miraflores District, Peru. This photograph was
focus-stacked from 24 separate images.
Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus