Tungsten
Element 74 · Transition Metal
Tungsten is the heavyweight champion of heat: no metal melts higher, and few materials are harder than its carbide. It is dense, steel-gray, resists corrosion, and usually appears in the +6 state in compounds.
It famously glowed inside incandescent bulbs for over a century. Today tungsten carbide cuts and drills through steel, tungsten targets generate X-rays in hospitals and airports, and its density ballasts aircraft and armor-piercing projectiles.
Key facts
| Atomic number | 74 |
|---|---|
| Atomic weight | 183.84 |
| Category | Transition Metal |
| Group / Period | 6 / 6 |
| Block | d |
| Electron configuration | 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d4 |
| Common oxidation states | +6 |
| State at STP | Solid |
| Electronegativity | 2.36 |
| Density | 19.25 g/cm³ |
| Melting point | 3422 °C |
| Boiling point | 5555 °C |
Occurrence
Tungsten is mined from wolframite and scheelite ores, with China producing the majority of world supply.
Applications
Cutting tools and drill bits (tungsten carbide)
X-ray tube targets
Filaments and heating elements
Counterweights and armor
Common compounds
- tungsten trioxide
- tungsten carbide
- tungsten hexafluoride
Tungsten's chemical symbol W comes from wolfram, its old German name — and at 3422 °C it has the highest melting point of any metal.
Data source: IUPAC standard atomic weights 2021