tungsten disulphide for high-temperature lubricants,
tungsten for incandescent bulb filaments
and fluorescent lighting electrodes,
tungsten for microwave oven magnetrons,
tungsten for the balls of ball-point pens,
tungsten oxides for ceramic glazes,
and tungsten for industrial catalysts.
Hard stuff
Heavier than lead,
hard and brittle when polycrystalline,
having the highest melting point,
and resistant to chemical attacks,
tungsten is used by some bacteria and archaea.
Metalic tungsten is safe but the powder is explosive
and some tungsten compounds are harmful to animal life.
You know what your mother would say about that.
The chemical symbol for tungsten is W,
for wolfram, the name chosen by the Elhuyar brothers
and used in Europe.
The name tungsten was not preferred because that was the original name
of the mineral scheelite, CaWO4.
The chemical symbol for tungsten is W, for wolfram, the name chosen by the Elhuyar brothers and used in Europe. The name tungsten was not preferred because that was the original name of the mineral scheelite, CaWO4.
See also in The book of science:
Readings on wikipedia:
Other readings: