Tungsten: What is it exactly?
Introduction:
Tungsten is a hard, brittle metal with a high melting point and tensile strength. Tungsten is one of the most useful metals in the world, with applications ranging from light bulb filaments to X-ray tubes. It is also used in heavy metal alloys such as those containing iron, copper, titanium, or nickel. In this article, we will explore some interesting facts about tungsten:
Tungsten’s melting point is 6,192 degrees Fahrenheit/ 3,422 Celsius making it the metal with the highest melting point. Because tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal, it is often alloyed with other metals to improve their strength or hardness at high temperatures. For example, tungsten heavy alloys are often used as rocket engine nozzles and jet engine turbine blades because they can handle high heat and pressure without changing shape or cracking.
Tungsten has the highest tensile strength of any metal. This means that it has the highest resistance to deforming or breaking when it's pulled apart. It is almost 20 times stronger than steel and twice as strong as titanium. However, this high tensile strength also makes tungsten brittle.
The name tungsten comes from the Swedish words "tung sten", which means "heavy stone."
It's commonly used in incandescent light bulb filaments, which makes it an essential part of any home or office. Tungsten is also used in X-ray tubes, electrodes in gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), and other products that require strong electron emission from their focal point.
Any colored tungsten carbide ring other than its natural silver color is achieved through a process called ion plating. This is true for all tungsten jewelry in the world. Ion plating is a process by which a surface is bombarded with atomic sized energetic particles in a vacuum to deposit a hard coating of compound materials that results in a desirable color. The process is vastly superior to traditional "wet" plating methods (like electroplating) due to its increased bonding strength.