Tungsten (74)

Pure tungsten is a steel-gray to tin-white metal. Tungsten has the highest melting point and lowest vapour pressure of all metals, and at temperatures over 1650°C has the highest tensile strength. The metal oxidises in air and must be protected at elevated temperatures. It has excellent corrosion resistance and is attacked only slightly by most mineral acids.

•Name: Tungsten
•Symbol: W
•Atomic number: 74
•Atomic weight: 183.84 (1) 
•Standard state: solid at 298 K
•CAS Registry ID: 7440-33-7
•Group in periodic table: 6
•Group name: (none)
•Period in periodic table: 6 
•Block in periodic table: d-block
•Color: greyish white, lustrous
•Classification: Metallic


Historical information
Tungsten was discovered by Fausto and Juan Jose de Elhuyar at 1783 in Spain. Origin of name is from the Swedish words "tung sten" meaning "heavy stone" (the origin of the symbol W is "wolfram ", named after the tungsten mineral wolframite). Tungsten used to be known as wolfram, from wolframite, said to be named from wolf rahm or spumi lupi, because the ore interfered with the smelting of tin and was supposed to devour the tin. The de Elhuyar brothers found an acid in wolframite in 1783 that they succeeded in reducing to the elemental metal with charcoal. 

Physical properties 
•Melting point: 3695 [or 3422 °C (6192 °F)] K
•Boiling point: 5828 [or 5555 °C (10031 °F)] K
•Density of solid: 19250 kg m-3

Orbital properties
•Ground state electron configuration: [Xe].4f14.5d4.6s2
•Shell structure: 2.8.18.32.12.2
•Term symbol: 5D0

Tungsten Uses: 
The thermal expansion of tungsten is similar to that of borosilicate glass, so the metal is used for glass/metal seals. 
Tungsten and its alloys are used to make filaments for electric lamps and television tubes, as electrical contacts, x-ray targets, heating elements, for metal evaporation components, and for numerous other high temperature applications. 
Hastelloy, Stellite, high-speed tool steel, and numerous other alloys contain tungsten. Magnesium and calcium tungstenates are used in fluorescent lighting. 
Tungsten carbide is important in the mining, metalworking, and petroleum industries. Tungsten disulfide is used as a dry high-temperature lubricant. 
Tungsten bronze and other tungsten compounds are used in paints.

Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal at 3,410 Deg. C 
Tungsten is popular in jewelry making because of its durability
Used for making different light bulbs 

Tungsten Sources: 
Tungsten occurs in wolframite, (Fe, Mn)WO4, scheelite, CaWO4, ferberite, FeWO4, and huebnerite, MnWO4. Tungsten is produced commercially by reducing tungsten oxide with carbon or hydrogen.