Tungsten

Tungsten rods with evaporated crystals, partially oxidized with colorful tarnish. Purity 99.98 %, as well as a high pure (99.999 % = 5N) 1 cm3 tungsten cube for comparison.

This element  tungsten, which has the chemical symbol W and the atomic number 74. The name is derived from Swedish and translates as "heavy stone", in recognition of one of this metal's more obvious qualities.

Pure tungsten is silver-coloured, very hard, and has an extremely high melting point (3422 °C / 6192 °F) -- the highest for any metal and second only to carbon (3550°C / 6422°F). Tungsten is quite rare on Earth and occurs in the wild only in a number of minerals.

By now, I suppose that you are wondering where the chemical symbol, W, came from. Although this element is known as tungsten in many English and French speaking countries, a number of European countries know it as wolfram, a word derived from German, which translates roughly as "wolf's froth" or "cream" -- a reference to the large amounts of tin consumed by tungsten extraction.

Although it is mildly toxic, tungsten doesn't play a (known) biological role in either animals or plants (eukaryotes). But this element is interesting to evolutionary biologists and microbiologists because tungsten-containing enzymes have been discovered in some species of archaea and bacteria, and it is required for life by the hyperthermophilic archaea species, Pyrococcus furiosus and Thermococcus litoralis Tungsten has also been found to inhibit growth in other bacteria.Biologists may appreciate this: the weirdest biological finding that I ran across is a study showing that sodium tungstate prevents reproduction in the earthworm species, Eisenia fetida.

Since tungsten is harder than gold alloys and is hypoallergenic, it is used as a scratch-resistant alternative to gold or platinum in jewelry. But more interesting, because tungsten is nearly as dense as gold, it has been used to counterfeit gold bars -- a ruse that has fooled unsuspecting investors.

Tungsten's density also makes it useful in fishing lures, and its strength makes it attractive for use in some types of strings for musical instruments and as an environmentally-friendly lead replacement in bullets.

Tungsten carbide is a very useful ceramic in blades for knives, drills and circular saws used in all sorts of metalworking, woodworking, mining, petroleum and construction tools.

Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
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