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BARIUM
Natural Abundance, Stable Isobars Ba130, 0.101%,Te130 Ba132, 0.097%, Xe130 Ba134, 2.42%. Xe132 Ba135, 6.59%, Xe134 Ba136, 7.81%, Xe136 Ba137, 11.32%, Ce136 Ba138, 71.66%, aLa138, Ce138 Barium metal, barium chloride, barium bromide, barium nitrate, and barium oxide have been used as charge material in the separation of barium isotopes. Barium metal provides the most satisfactory calutron operating conditions and this is the preferred material. The average charge consists of 250g Ba metal in a style S-16 stainless steel charge bottle. An effort is made to procure Ba metal with low strontium content from commercial sources for use in the calutron. The presence of >0.5% strontium in the Ba metal greatly reduces its value as a charge material. Melting the Ba metal and allowing it to flow into the charge bottle under vacuum improves the operation by reducing operating pressure, lowering current drain, and eliminating sparking. It has been found necessary to isolate the Ba vapor from hot graphite source components for optimum operating conditions. In these separations the inside of the ionization chamber is lined with stainless steel, and the graphite exit slit is replaced with one fabricated from stainless steel. Barium metal reacts with water and alcohol to evolve hydrogen, which can form an explosive mixture in air. Soluble salts of barium are toxic and it is recommended that rubber gloves and safety glasses be worn when handling barium and its compounds. Respirators should be used if dusting occurs. aLa138, natural abundance 0.08%, is radioactive with a half-life of 1.1x1011 years. |
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