October 31 - November 3, 2004
Element of the Day
Saturday, October 2
Name
Origin: From the Swedish words "tung sten" meaning "heavy
stone" (the origin of the symbol W is "wolfram ", named after the
tungsten mineral wolframite).
Discovered by: Fausto and Juan Jose de Elhuyar (Spain) in 1783.
Uses: TV tubes (electron tubes), X-ray targets, useful for glass-to-metal seals since the thermal expansion is about the same as borosilicate glass, tungsten and its alloys are used extensively for filaments for electric lamps, electron and television tubes, and for metal evaporation work, electrical contact points for car distributors