EnvironmentalChemistry.com
Environmental, Chemistry & Hazardous Materials News, Careers & Resources

Periodic Table of Elements

Element Tungsten - W

Comprehensive data on the chemical element Tungsten is provided on this page; including scores of properties, element names in many languages, most known nuclides of Tungsten. Common chemical compounds are also provided for many elements. In addition technical terms are linked to their definitions and the menu contains links to related articles that are a great aid in one's studies.

Tungsten Menu

Overview of Tungsten

Tungsten's Name in Other Languages

  • Latin: Wolframium
  • Czech: Wolfram
  • Croatian: Volfram
  • French: Tungsténe
  • German: Wolfram - r
  • Italian: Wolframio
  • Norwegian: Wolfram
  • Portuguese: Tungstênio
  • Russian: Вольфрам
  • Spanish: Wolframio
  • Swedish: Volfram

Atomic Structure of Tungsten

Chemical Properties of Tungsten

Physical Properties of Tungsten

  • Atomic Mass Average: 183.85
  • Boiling Point: 5928K 5655°C 10211°F
  • Coefficient of lineal thermal expansion/K-1: 4.59E-6
  • Conductivity
    Electrical: 0.189 106/cm Ω
    Thermal: 1.74 W/cmK
  • Density: 19.35g/cc @ 300K
  • Description:
    Hard, silver-white metal that is generally obtained as a dull grey powder that is hard to melt.
  • Elastic Modulus:
    • Bulk: 311/GPa
    • Rigidity: 160.5/GPa
    • Youngs: 411/GPa
  • Enthalpy of Atomization: 837 kJ/mole @ 25°C
  • Enthalpy of Fusion: 35.23 kJ/mole
  • Enthalpy of Vaporization: 799.1 kJ/mole
  • Flammablity Class: Combustible
  • Freezing Point: see melting point
  • Hardness Scale
    • Brinell: 2570 MN m-2
    • Mohs: 7.5
    • Vickers: 3430 MN m-2
  • Heat of Vaporization: 824kJ/mol
  • Melting Point: 3680K 3407°C 6165°F
  • Molar Volume: 9.5 cm3/mole
  • Optical Reflectivity: 62%
  • Physical State (at 20°C & 1atm): Solid
  • Specific Heat: 0.13J/gK
  • Vapor Pressure = 4.27Pa@3407°C

Regulatory / Health

  • CAS Number
    • 7440-33-7
  • RTECS: Y07175000
  • OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)
    • No limits set by OSHA
  • OSHA PEL Vacated 1989
  • NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL)
  • Routes of Exposure: Inhalation; Ingestion; Skin and/or eye contact
  • Target Organs: Eyes, skin, respiratory system, blood
  • Levels In Humans:
    Note: this data represents naturally occuring levels of elements in the typical human, it DOES NOT represent recommended daily allowances.
    • Blood/mg dm-3: 0.001
    • Bone/p.p.m: 0.00025
    • Liver/p.p.m: n/a
    • Muscle/p.p.m: n/a
    • Daily Dietary Intake: 0.001-0.015 mg
    • Total Mass In Avg. 70kg human: 0.02 mg

Who / Where / When / How

  • Discoverer: Fausto and Juan José de Elhuijar
  • Discovery Location: Vergara Spain
  • Discovery Year: 1783
  • Name Origin:
    Swedish: tung sten (heavy stone): W symbol from its German name wolfram which is named after wolframite.
  • Abundance of Tungsten:
    • Earth's Crust/p.p.m.: 160.6
    • Seawater/p.p.m.: 0.000092
    • Atmosphere/p.p.m.: 411
    • Sun (Relative to H=1E12): 0.28
  • Sources of Tungsten:
    Occurs in the minerals scheelite (CaWO4) and wolframite [(Fe,Mn)WO4]. Annual world wide production is around 45,100 tons. Primary mining areas are China, Malaysia, Burma, bolivia, canada, Australia, Japan and USA.
  • Uses of Tungsten:
    Used widely in the electronics industry. Made into filaments for vacuum tubes and electric lights. Also used in contact points in cars, welding electrodes, rocket nozzles and cutting tools. Combined with calcium or magnesium it makes phosphors.
  • Additional Notes:
    Some sources give the German chemist Karl Wilhelm Scheele as the first to isolate the metal in 1880, but most sources credit the Elhuijar brothers.

Tungsten Menu

References

A list of reference sources used to compile the data provided on our periodic table of elements can be found on the main periodic table page.

Related Resources

Citing this page

If you need to cite this page, you can copy this text: