What is Tungsten?

This is a guest by Ryan Ely, his website is: https://exotech.com

How Much Do You Know About Tungsten?

For those of you that didn’t know, tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal, and it also has the second highest boiling point of any metal as well. However, let’s get past the chemistry for a minute, and discuss how important this precious metal is in our daily lives. This rare metal was discovered in 1781 by the Elhuya brothers, Fausto and Juan Jose. Tungsten comes from the mineral wolframite, and the Swedish word for tungsten literally means “heavy stone”. Tungsten carbine is also considered one of the hardest metals in existence today.

Tungsten and its Uses in Modern Life

If it weren’t for Tungsten, we might not have some of our most modern technologies, or help doctors be able to determine if we have any broken bones. Tungsten has not only been used in the past to make the filaments for lightbulbs, but it is also used in making X-ray tubes. Let that fact sink in for a moment. Can you imagine having to go to the doctor after having a bout with a long cold, and the doctors not being able to tell if you have pneumonia, or bronchitis, because they did not have the technology available to help give you a proper diagnosis? What if you slip and fell, and you needed to know if you had broken a bone? Did you also know if we didn’t have access to tungsten, then we probably wouldn’t have televisions?

What are Some Other Important Uses of Tungsten?

Besides making beautiful jewelry, and the several other items listed in the previous paragraph, tungsten is also used for making heating elements, electrodes, and it is sometimes combined with heavy metal alloys like high speed steel in order to make different cutting tools.

Something to Think About

Take a moment to reflect all that we have due to the precious metals available on this planet, and then please take a moment to picture yourself without some of the commodities mentioned in this article and let your mind ponder about what life might be like if we didn’t have precious metals like tungsten.

Author Bio:

Ryan Ely

Website: https://exotech.com

Ryan is an avid fan of rare metals, and he is fascinated by the history surrounding tungsten, niobium, and chromium. In his spare time he likes spending time with his four wonderful children, and his beautiful wife Shannon.