Tungsten, known in Dutch as wolfraam, is a gray, lustrous, and exceptionally heavy metal with the highest melting and boiling points of all metals. The only element in the periodic table with a higher melting point is carbon. Tungsten excels when it comes to heat resistance: it boasts the highest melting point of all metals at 3422°C. This makes it exceptionally suitable for applications involving extremely high temperatures.
Properties | Tungsten has an extremely high melting point, high density, excellent corrosion resistance, heat resistance in a vacuum, and exceptional hardness. |
Applications | Tungsten is used in filaments, X-ray tubes, electrical contacts, high-voltage conductors, heaters, tool holders, thermocouples, anodes, filaments, and cutting inserts such as milling wheels. |
Tungsten is renowned for its exceptionally high melting point of 3,422°C, the highest of all metals. This heat resistance makes it ideal for applications that must withstand extreme temperatures, such as furnace components and industrial heating elements. Additionally, tungsten has a low coefficient of expansion (4.5, compared to 29.3 for lead), resulting in excellent dimensional stability. This makes the metal practically indestructible and suitable for prolonged exposure to high temperatures. Some commonly used tungsten alloys include W90NiFeMo, W90NiFe, W92.5NiFe, and W97NiFe.
Thanks to its high density of 19.25 g/cm³ and non-toxic nature, tungsten is widely used in the medical sector. It is employed for radiation shielding in X-ray technology and as protection against radioactive radiation, offering a more effective and safer alternative to lead. Due to its high absorption capacity for X-rays and gamma rays, tungsten is used in collimators and protective shields. Moreover, the metal can be excellently machined through CNC turning and milling, maintaining its dimensional stability and surface quality. With properties such as high wear resistance, thermal conductivity, and burn-off resistance, tungsten remains an indispensable material in both industrial and medical applications.
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