By David Stewart
Updated Mar 24, 2022
Tungsten, whose name originates from the Swedish words Tung Sten meaning “heavy stone,” is a gray‑white metal renowned for its remarkable stability and resistance to acids, bases, and extreme temperatures. With the highest melting point of any pure metal, tungsten is indispensable across electrical, manufacturing, construction, and chemical sectors.
The most familiar application of tungsten is as the filament in incandescent and halogen light bulbs. Its ability to withstand temperatures above 3,000 °C while maintaining a very low vapor pressure allows bulbs to produce bright, long‑lasting light. Tungsten filaments are also used in automotive headlamps, projector and flood‑light reflectors, video‑camera lamps, runway markers, medical imaging equipment, and fiber‑optic systems.
When alloyed with other metals, tungsten imparts exceptional wear resistance, high‑temperature tolerance, and corrosion resistance. For example, cobalt‑chromium‑tungsten alloys, known as stellites, excel in bearings, pistons, and valve seats. Superalloys that combine tungsten with molybdenum, tantalum, rhenium, nickel, iron, or cobalt can endure temperatures above 1,000 °C and are critical for marine engines, aircraft turbine blades, and stationary power plant components.
Incorporating tungsten into steel dramatically increases hardness and cutting performance. Tungsten‑containing tool steels are preferred for manufacturing cutting tools, drills, and high‑strength structural components because they retain their strength across a broad temperature range.
Tungsten is also valuable in research settings. High‑purity sodium tungstate is used as a reagent in biochemical assays, while sodium metatungstate solutions serve as heavy liquids for density‑based mineral separation. Additionally, tungsten granules accelerate the determination of carbon and sulfur content in metallurgical analyses.
