Appearance
The beautiful, silvery-white, extremely hard, and dense metal tungsten tarnishes in air to produce a protective oxide layer. The lustrous, grayish-white metal tungsten is a solid at normal temperature. Of all the metals, tungsten has the greatest melting point, the lowest vapor pressure, and the strongest tensile strength at temperatures higher than 1650°C. It is very resistant to corrosion and is only minimally affected by most mineral acids.
Geographical Distribution
Tungsten resources are found all over the world; the main producers are China, Russia, Bolivia, Canada, and Portugal. With a substantial share of the world’s tungsten output, China is the leading producer of the metal. Significant tungsten resources and production are also found in other nations, including Canada and Russia. Smaller amounts of tungsten deposits can also be found in other parts of the world.
History
Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered in 1781 that scheelite, which was then known as tungsten, could be used to make tungstic acid, a novel acid. By reducing this acid, Scheele and Torbern Bergman hypothesized that a new metal might be produced. José and Fausto Elhuyar discovered in 1783 that an acid derived from wolframite was exactly the same as tungstic acid. They are credited with the element’s discovery since they were able to isolate tungsten later that year at the Royal Basque Society in the Spanish town of Bergara by reducing this acid with charcoal (they termed it “wolfram” or “volfram”).
Early in the 20th century, tungsten’s strategic importance became apparent. During World War I, British officials restricted German access elsewhere and took action in 1912 to relieve the German-owned Cumbrian Mining Company from its ownership of the Carrock mine. Tin was more important in covert political transactions during World War II. Portugal, the primary supplier of the element in Europe, faced pressure from both sides due to its Panasqueira wolframite ore resources.
Due to its advantageous qualities, including its hardness, density, and ability to withstand high temperatures, tungsten has become a vital raw material for the armaments industry. It is used in the manufacturing of tungsten carbide cutting tools, which are used to machine steel, as well as in the construction of weapons and equipment. These days, tungsten finds use in a wide range of products, including darts, athletic equipment, anti-vibration tools, and ballast weights for motorsports and aircraft.
Among the elements, tungsten stands out since it has been the focus of patent litigation. Attempts by General Electric to patent it were denied by a US court in 1928, reversing the 1913 award of U.S. patent 1,082,933 to William D. Coolidge.
Chemical Composition
Commonly occurring in nature in tungstates as wolframite [(Fe,Mn)WO4] and scheelite (CaWO4), tungsten is found in these forms.
Uses
Owing to its remarkable qualities and attributes, tungsten (W) finds extensive application in a multitude of industries. Tungsten is frequently used in the following applications and uses:
- Electrical and electronic applications: Due to its strong electrical conductivity and resistance to high temperatures, tungsten is utilized in electrical lines, incandescent lamp filaments, and the creation of electrical connections and electrodes.
- Cutting tools and abrasives: Because of its extreme hardness and resistance to wear, tungsten is utilized in the manufacturing of cutting instruments including saws, drills, and grinding wheels. A compound made of tungsten called tungsten carbide is also commonly utilized in abrasives and cutting tools.
- Aerospace and defense applications: Because of its high melting point, density, and hardness, tungsten is utilized in the aerospace and defense industries for a variety of purposes, including the manufacture of high-temperature materials, rocket nozzles, and armor-piercing projectiles.
- Filament in lighting applications: Because tungsten has a high melting point and can tolerate high temperatures without melting or evaporating, it is utilized as a filament in halogen and incandescent lights.
- Heat sinks and high-temperature applications: Because of its high melting point, thermal conductivity, and durability at high temperatures, tungsten is utilized in the manufacturing of heat sinks for electronic devices as well as in high-temperature applications including furnaces, heating elements, and thermocouples.
- Automotive and aerospace components: Because of its high density and mechanical qualities, tungsten is used to make a variety of automotive and aeronautical components, including crankshafts, ballast weights, and balancing weights.
- Medical applications: Due to its high density, radiation shielding qualities, and biocompatibility, tungsten is utilized in medical applications, including radiation shielding for CT and X-ray equipment, as well as in the production of implants and prosthetic.
- Chemical and petrochemical industries: Because of its high melting point, thermal stability, and resistance to chemicals, tungsten is utilized in the petrochemical and chemical industries for high-temperature materials, catalysts, and electrodes.
- Sports equipment: Because of its small size and high density, tungsten is used to make fishing weights, golf club weights, and darts. These applications require accurate weight distribution.
- Military applications: Because of its great density and hardness, tungsten finds usage in military applications such as armor-piercing bullets and kinetic energy penetrators.
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