21 Interesting Facts About Tungsten: Read About This Rare Metal

The name of this metal is derived from the Swedish word "tungsten" which means "Heavy stone" owing to the bulkiness of the scheelite ore.

William D. Coolidge was the first one to use Tungsten wire and turn them into Tungsten filament used for light bulbs. Later it was Thomas Edison who was credited with the discovery of incandescent light bulbs.

Pure Tungsten stands are not found in nature, it is mostly fused with wolframite, scheelite, ferberite, and hubnerite. Either with the help of hydrogen or carbon, Tungsten ore is derived from Tungsten oxide.

China is its leading producer, supplying close to 75% of the world demand while other producers of tungsten are the U.S.A, Russia, South Korea, Portugal, and Bolivia.

Some interesting facts about Tungsten are that it is not only used for making professional darts but also is used in making ballpoint pens. The balls are mostly made of Tungsten carbide.

During the Cold War, "Project Thor" was a unique concept that was developed but canceled due to its overtly expensive budget. The project proposed the release of the bundle of 20 ft (6 mt) Tungsten rods from the orbit into the enemy territory creating havoc like nuclear weapons.

History & Discovery Of Tungsten

The discovery of Tungsten can be traced back to the 1780s.

Tungsten is believed to have been first discovered in 1781 in the form of a tungstic acid which is called scheelite, by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele and T.O Bergman.

But the acclaim of the discovery of this new metal went to Juan Jose and Fausto D'Elhuyar, the Spanish brothers in 1783 who were responsible for deriving it from wolframite by charcoal reduction.

In many parts of the world, Tungsten is known as wolframite as it was derived from wolfram, which has also a history of its own. The tin smelters found that the presence of wolfram reduced the extraction of the tin ore, just like a wolf is responsible for the reduction of cattle in a herd.

It is interesting to note that the Spanish brothers suggested the name wolfram for Tungsten.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in 2005 made Tungsten the official name of this metal all over the world for the uniformity of the periodic table used in different parts of the world.

Melting & Boiling Point Of Tungsten

In most of the metal elements, we see high boiling and melting point and this is because the atoms are closely bonded with each other.

Tungsten holds the record of the highest melting point of 6191.6 °F (3422 °C) in the periodic table.

Close to that of the photosphere of the sun, the boiling point of this metal is 10030 °F (5555 °C)

Atomic Number & Weight Of Tungsten

The function of this number is to identify different metals and their chemical properties whereas the atomic mass number provides information about the weight of the number of atoms is occupying.

With the presence of 74 protons and 74 electrons, the atomic number of Tungsten is 74.

The atomic weight of Tungsten is 183.84 u and was assigned by CIAAW (Commission of Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights) in 1991 using negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry.

Characteristics & Features Of Tungsten

Like all other metals in the periodic table, it has some specific set of characteristic features.

Tungsten is categorized under refractory metals a term used in chemical engineering and metallurgy. These metals tend to have a high heat-resistant capacity and do not erode easily.

Not only does it have a high melting and boiling point but it also has the capacity of high electric resistance and is often used for making light bulbs.

Tungsten as a metal is hard but when combined with carbon, it becomes Tungsten carbide which is so powerful that it can withstand any harsh conditions and can only be cut by diamonds.

5 stable isotopes have been recognized for natural Tungsten which undergoes radioactive decay with almost 30 more isotopes that are unstable.

Tungsten is not corroded by water though it reacts and dissolves in a mixed solution of nitric and hydrofluoric acid.

With a low coefficient of linear thermal expansion, Tungsten is brittle at room temperature. But with the proper amount of heat pure Tungsten can be made ductile and fine wires can be carved out.

Tungsten also fulfills a biological function and has low toxicity. Not only it is used by some bacteria as enzymes to reduce carboxylic acids to aldehydes but tungstic acid is also used by some animals for metabolism.

FAQs

Q: What can melt Tungsten?

A: With a melting point of 6191.6 degrees F (3422 degrees C) it can only be melted by Carbon having a melting point of 6422 degrees F (3550 degrees C). But in the liquid state, the same method cannot be applied as they will react to form Tungsten carbide.

Q: Does Tungsten have a smell?

A: It has a pungent rotten egg odor and looks like a mass of fine powder.

Q: Is Tungsten bulletproof?

A: With its impressive tensile strength and hardness, it can be used for making bulletproof vests to prevent bullets. But as it has a density of 19.3 gm/cm cube, it would not be sensible to use it as the product would become very heavy.

Q: What is the real name of Tungsten?

A: As it was discovered after the charcoal reduction of the oxide from wolframite, in many parts of the world it is known as wolfram.

Q: What is an interesting fact about Tungsten?

A: The common glass that is used in most places is borosilicate. Tungsten compounds are used for the welding of metal and glass, as Tungsten expands and contracts in a similar way to borosilicate.

Q: What are 5 facts about Tungsten?

A: Due to its high thermal conductivity, it is used in making different heating elements and reflectors like television tubes, light bulb filaments, metal evaporators, and many more other appliances.

With a small amount of carbon in the Tungsten pigment, Tungsten carbide is considered to be one of the hardest alloys and is used for making valuable tools, one of such is drill bits.

Regarded as one of the most important refractory metals, due to its hardness and density it also has use in the weapon industry. Armor-piercing bullets and kinetic bombardments have been manufactured by using Tungsten resources.

Both due to its low environmental impact and massive radiation shielding prowess Tungsten is used as the target of x-rays.

Due to its extreme scratch-resistant property and durability Tungsten carbide has found its use even in the jewelry industry. Tungsten carbide rings are considered very durable as they will seem to remain polished forever.