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barium sulfate
noun
: a crystalline insoluble compound BaSO4 that is used especially as a pigment and extender, as a filler (as in fluids used in gas and oil drilling), and as a substance opaque to X-rays in medical photography of the digestive tract
Examples of barium sulfate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Most critically, the all-important barium sulfate needs to be mined in ways that can be environmentally damaging.
—Jackie Appel, Popular Mechanics, 14 July 2023
The paint has a very high concentration of barium sulfate, a highly reflective material that is key to the paints cooling capabilities.
—Jackie Appel, Popular Mechanics, 14 July 2023
In 1973, the uranium processor Cotter Corp. took hazardous leached barium sulfate from Latty Avenue to the West Lake Landfill, also in Bridgeton.
—Michael Phillis and Jim Salter, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2023
The future may hold some clouds of barium sulfate.
—Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 16 Apr. 2021
And in the yellows that had browned, the team found their culprit in forcing the chromium change: barium sulfate.
—Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 15 Feb. 2011
Radiographic examination of the stomach traditionally uses barium sulfate or Gastrografin as contrast agents.
—Ncbi Rofl, Discover Magazine, 12 July 2011
Back in 2021, Xiulin Ruan, a mechanical engineering professor at Purdue University, developed the world’s whitest paint using nanoparticles of barium sulfate to reflect 98.1 percent of sunlight.
—Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 5 Oct. 2022
The key was barium sulfate, which allowed the paint to reflect 98.1 percent of sunlight and cool surfaces by up to 19 degrees Fahrenheit compared to their surroundings.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Oct. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'barium sulfate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1865, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near barium sulfate
Cite this Entry
“Barium sulfate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barium%20sulfate. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
barium sulfate
noun
: a colorless crystalline compound that is a sulfate of barium used especially in taking X-ray photographs of the digestive tract
Medical Definition
barium sulfate
noun
: a colorless crystalline insoluble salt BaSO4 occurring in nature as barite and used medically chiefly as a radiopaque substance
More from Merriam-Webster on barium sulfate
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about barium sulfate
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