home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Name : Tungsten
- Symbol : W
- Atomic # : 74
- Atom weight: 183.85
- Melting P. : 3410
- Boiling P. : 5660
- Oxidation : +6
- Pronounced : TUNG-sten
- From : Swedish, tung sten, "heavy stone"; Symbol, W, is taken from
- the alternative name, wolfram
- Identified : Brothers Juan Jose and Fausto Elhuyar in 1783
- Appearance : Tough, steel-gray to white metal
- Note : Highest melting point of all metals
-
- [Properties]
-
- Very pure tungsten is relatively soft; at least it can be cut with an
- ordinary hacksaw. However, small amounts of impurities render the metal
- hard and brittle. It is sometimes described as being steely gray or
- tending toward a white color. The appearance, like its ductility, depends
- a lot on the purity of the samples.
- Tungsten is a chromium metal in Group VIB on the periodic table of the
- elements. It is quite similar to the two elements appearing above it on
- the table, molybdenum (Mo) and chromium (Cr). While tungstenhas the
- highest melting temperature of all the elements, it is straddled on the
- right and left by elements having the second- and third-highest melting
- points, rhenium (Re) and tantalum (Ta).
-