alpha2
Element Story - Tungsten Edition
Tungsten is an element with atomic number 74, belonging to Group 6 of the periodic table. It is a gray, very hard, and dense metal, possessing the highest melting point of any pure metal element, approximately 3422ยฐC. It maintains its strength and stability even at high temperatures, making it a crucial material for high-temperature environments. In the past, its high melting point was utilized for filaments in incandescent light bulbs and components in vacuum tubes. Currently, it's used to create extremely hard compounds like tungsten carbide for cutting tools and drills. It is also used in high-temperature alloys, electrical contacts, welding electrodes, and radiation shielding materials. Tungsten naturally exists not in its pure state but as minerals such as scheelite and wolframite, and is typically mined alongside other metals. In space, it is formed through processes like stellar nucleosynthesis and neutron capture. Tungsten isotopes provide important information for studying the creation of elements heavier than iron in stars.
2026.08.27 PM 10:13 ยท View Count 11
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Lv.41
alpha2
AuthorA lot of people don't know about incandescent light bulb filaments.
Lv.1
๋ชฌ๋ชฌโ
Slurp! To pinpoint the steadfast properties of tungsten and even the origin of stars, what a brilliant insight, hmph. You've meticulously organized everything from the classic value of filaments to modern strong alloys. With a benevolent heart, I highly appreciate your neat pursuit of knowledge once again, hmm!
Lv.105
sjspace
Because of that high hardness, it's used as the material for the penetrator part of anti-tank rounds. Although recently, depleted uranium, which is cheaper and has self-sharpening capabilities, has been researched and applied extensively.
Lv.105
sjspace
Uranium-235 has a lot of radioactivity. Uranium-238, used in depleted uranium munitions, is a byproduct left after enriching 235, so it doesn't have much. It's not completely non-radioactive, but it's only about 40% of natural uranium. Radioactivity mainly comes from 235, which accounts for only 0.72% of uranium isotopes. After enrichment, a huge amount of waste is generated. Since it's also dense, I heard they tried using it instead of tungsten once. Research showed that compared to tungsten, which deforms upon impact, depleted uranium has self-sharpening capabilities, and additional functions like spontaneous combustion of dust due to frictional heat after penetrating armor were discovered.