Tungsten (W)
Tungsten has the highest melting point of all elements and is used in light bulb filaments and cutting tools.
Properties of Tungsten
- Atomic number
- 74
- Category
- Transition Metal
- Atomic mass
- 183.84 u
- Electron configuration
- [Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d⁴ 6s²
- Melting point
- 3695 K (3421.85 °C)
- Boiling point
- 5828 K (5554.85 °C)
- Density
- 19.25 g/cm³
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- 2.36
- Appearance
- Grayish-white, lustrous metal
- Discovered by
- Juan José Elhuyar (1783)
Facts about Tungsten
- Tungsten has the highest melting point of any element — 3,422°C!
- Old incandescent light bulb filaments were made of tungsten!
- Tungsten's symbol W comes from "wolfram," its German name!
- Tungsten is nearly as dense as gold — people have tried using it to make fake gold bars!