- Barium fluoride
]
Barium fluoride is also a common, very fast (one of the fastest)
scintillator for the detection ofX-ray s,gamma ray s or other high energy particles. One of its applications is the detection of 511 keV gamma photons inpositron emission tomography ; other material used in this application is eg.bismuth germanate . It responds also to alpha and beta particles, but, unlike most scintillators, it glows in ultraviolet light [M. Laval, Barium Fluoride - inorganic scintillator for subnanoseconds timing, Nuclear Instruments and Methods, 206 :169-176, 1983 ] . It can be also used for detection of high-energy (10-150 MeV)neutron s, and use pulse shape discrimination techniques to separate them from simultaneously occurring gamma photons.When heated to 500 °C, it gets corroded by water, but in dry environment it can be used up to 800 °C. Prolonged exposure to moisture degrades transmission in the
vacuum UV range. It is less resistant to water thancalcium fluoride , but is the most resistant of all the optical fluorides to high-energy radiation, though its far ultraviolet transmittance is lower than theirs. It is quite hard, and very sensitive tothermal shock .Barium fluoride is used as a preopacifying agent and in enamel and glazing frits production. Its other use is in the production of
welding agents (an additive to some fluxes, a component of coatings forwelding rod s and in welding powders). It is also used inmetallurgy , as a molten bath for refiningaluminium .References
External links
* [http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/BA/barium_fluoride.html MSDS at Oxford University]
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