Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74.
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25 Facts About Tungsten
2.
Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements.
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3.
Tungsten occurs in many alloys, which have numerous applications, including incandescent light bulb filaments, X-ray tubes, electrodes in gas tungsten arc welding, superalloys, and radiation shielding.
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4.
Tungsten is the only metal in the third transition series that is known to occur in biomolecules, being found in a few species of bacteria and archaea.
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5.
Tungsten has the lowest coefficient of thermal expansion of any pure metal.
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6.
Tungsten is a mostly non-reactive element: it does not react with water, is immune to attack by most acids and bases, and does not react with oxygen or air at room temperature.
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7.
Tungsten typically combines with oxygen to form the yellow tungstic oxide, WO3, which dissolves in aqueous alkaline solutions to form tungstate ions,.
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8.
Tungsten carbides are produced by heating powdered tungsten with carbon.
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9.
Tungsten is unique amongst the elements in that it has been the subject of patent proceedings.
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10.
Tungsten has thus far not been found in nature in its pure form.
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11.
Tungsten oxide is soluble in aqueous base, forming tungstate .
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12.
Tungsten production is gradually increasing outside China because of the rising demand.
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13.
Tungsten is considered to be a conflict mineral due to the unethical mining practices observed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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14.
Tungsten is not traded as a futures contract and cannot be tracked on exchanges like the London Metal Exchange.
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15.
Tungsten is mainly used in the production of hard materials based on tungsten carbide, one of the hardest carbides.
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16.
Tungsten alloys are used in a wide range of applications, including the aerospace and automotive industries and radiation shielding.
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17.
Tungsten has been used in Dense inert metal explosives, which use it as dense powder to reduce collateral damage while increasing the lethality of explosives within a small radius.
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18.
Tungsten sulfide is a high temperature lubricant and is a component of catalysts for hydrodesulfurization.
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19.
Tungsten oxide is incorporated into selective catalytic reduction catalysts found in coal-fired power plants.
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20.
Tungsten containing catalysts are promising for epoxidation, oxidation, and hydrogenolysis reactions.
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21.
Tungsten has seen use recently in nozzles for 3D printing; the high wear resistance and thermal conductivity of tungsten carbide improves the printing of abrasive filaments.
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22.
Tungsten is used as an absorber on the electron telescope on the Cosmic Ray System of the two Voyager spacecraft.
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23.
Tungsten powder is used as a filler material in plastic composites, which are used as a nontoxic substitute for lead in bullets, shot, and radiation shields.
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24.
Tungsten has been studied as a biological copper metabolic antagonist, in a role similar to the action of molybdenum.
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25.
Tungsten is a rare metal and its compounds are generally inert, the effects of tungsten on the environment are limited.
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