Tungsten

Tungsten (W)

Atomic Number: 74
Atomic Weight: 183.85
Melting Point: 3410
Boiling Point: 5660
Specific Gravity: 19.3
Valence(s): 2,3,4,5, or 6
The de Elhuyar brothers isolated tungsten from wolframite in 1783. Tungsten, also known as wolfram, occurs in wolframite and ferberite. Since tungsten expands in heat at about the same rate as glass, it is used to make glass-to-metal seals. Tungsten compounds are used as filaments in electric lamps. Tungsten is Swedish for "heavy stone". [LM] {RW}