Tungsten W
Ashlyn Taylor
Wolfram
Tungsten was first used in China when porcelain makers used as a peach color and was later discovered in the mineral Wolframite by Peter Woulfe. Tungsten was first officially produced by Juan and Fausto Elhuyar in Spain and it's name, which is Swedish, translates to heavy stone. To create this metal the scientist had to separate the metal from Wolframite and then heat it with carbon. This created one of the hardest metals on Earth. Though it's more commonly known as Tungsten, it's also known as Wolfram, which is where its' symbol comes from.
Uses
Tungsten was first used in incandescent light bulbs. Because it is not energy efficient and produces more heat than light, it is not as widely used anymore. Now it is more widely used in heating elements and high-temperature furnaces and to strengthen other metals. Tungsten is also used in x-rays, spikes in the drive track of snowmobiles, the point of a ballpoint pen, vibrators in phones, and professional darts. Tungsten is also used in military equipment. This includes bullets, armor, and missiles. Tungsten is more preferred over uranium in the use of missiles because it's dust is flammable and explosive but not as deadly after burning. This makes it more eco-friendly.
Properties
Tungsten is a light grey or soft whitish metal that has an atomic mass of 183.84 and an atomic radius of 193 pm. It's an extremely dense (19.250 g/cc) and has a melting point of 3422 C. Tungsten also has a boiling point of 5555 C and is a solid at room temperature. While it is highly conductive it is brittle. It holds a hardness of 7.5-8. Tungsten is corrosion resistant. Calcium and Magnesium tungstates are often used in fluorescent lighting.
Tungsten - Periodic Table of Videos