History:
        

Three men discovered tungsten.  Two were Spanish scientists Don Fausto D’Elhuyard (1755-1833), and his brother Don Juan Jose D’Elhuyard (1754-1796).  The third man was a Swedish chemist named Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786). Scheele studied a white acidic powder, it was Tungsten acids. Also, a German chemist named Johnn Gottlob Lehmann (1719-1769) studied an element named Wolfram, which is Tungsten’s German alternative name, the German name for Tungsten is why Tungsten’s symbol is (W). Tungsten was first prepared in 1783.

Uses:
        

The most important use of Tungsten is making alloys. Around 90% of Tungsten alloys are used in mining, construction, and electrical and metalworking machinery. The alloys are also used to make high-speed tools, heating elements in furnaces, parts for aircrafts and spacecrafts, equipment used in radios, television, radars, rock drills, metal-cutting tools and similar equipment. Tungsten is also used to increase the hardness, strength, tensile strength and elasticity of steels. A small amount of Tungsten is used to make incandescent lights and in moderate amounts, it also presents virtually no health danger.

Physical Properties of Tungsten:
        

Tungsten has the highest melting point of all the metals; it is 3,410°C (6,170°F).  The boiling point is even higher; it is 5900°C (10,600°F).  Tungsten’s atomic mass is 183.84 and the crystal structure is in spaced groups.

Chemical Properties of Tungsten:
        

Scheele obtained a dull grey acidic powder; it was called Tungstic acid (H2WO4). Tungsten is a very hard and brittle solid, the colors range from steel-grey to nearly white.  Tungsten does rust, but only at temperatures above 400°C (700°F), so don’t get your hopes up to find rusted Tungsten.

Tungsten Ores:
        

Tungsten’s most common ores are the mineral sheelite or calcium tungstate (CaWO4), and iron or manganese tungstate (Fe, MnWO4).  Tungsten is one of the more rare elements.

Producers of Tungsten:
        

Because Tungsten is one of the more rare elements, it is hard to find.  The amount of Tungsten on the earths crust is about 1.5 parts per million parts.  The largest producers of Tungsten on the world are China, Russia and Portugal.  The USA didn’t start mining Tungsten until 1996.