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Barium fluoride is an inorganic compound with the formula BaF2. It is a colorless solid that occurs in nature as the rare mineral frankdicksonite. Under standard conditions it adopts the fluorite structure and at high pressure the PbCl2 structure. Like CaF2, it is resilient to and insoluble in water.
Above ca. 500 °C, BaF2 is corroded by moisture, but in dry environments 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 than calcium fluoride, but it is the most resistant of all the optical fluorides to high-energy radiation, though its far ultraviolet transmittance is lower than that of the other fluorides. It is quite hard, very sensitive to thermal shock and fractures quite easily.