[11] Barium fluoride is also a common, very fast (one of the fastest) scintillators for the detection of X-rays, gamma rays or other high energy particles.

It responds also to alpha and beta particles, but, unlike most scintillators, it does not emit ultraviolet light.

[12] It can be also used for detection of high-energy (10–150 MeV) neutrons, using pulse shape discrimination techniques to separate them from simultaneously occurring gamma photons.

Barium fluoride is used as a preopacifying agent and in enamel and glazing frits production.

[14] Another proposal is that polarisation of the electron core of the barium atom creates an approximately tetrahedral distribution of charge that interacts with the Ba-F bonds.