Discovery date : 1783
Discovered by: Juan and Fausto Elhuyar
Origin of the name: The name is derived from the Swedish 'tung sten' meaning heavy stone.
Allotropes :
~>TUNGSTEN is a chemical element with symbol W and atomic number 74. The name tungsten comes from the former Swedish name for the tungstate mineral scheelite, from tung sten heavy stone. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in chemical compounds.
| FACT BOX | |||
| Group | 6 | Melting point | 3414°C, 6177°F, 3687 K |
| Period | 6 | Boiling point | 5555°C, 10031°F, 5828 K |
| Block | d | Density (g cm−3) | 19.3 |
| Atomic number | 74 | Relative atomic mass | 183.84 |
| State at 20°C | Solid | Key isotopes | 182W, 184W,186W |
| Electron configuration | [Xe] 4f145d46s2 | CAS number | 7440-33-7 |
| ChemSpider ID | 22403 | ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database | |
More than 350 years ago, porcelain makers in China incorporated a unique peach colour into their designs by means of a tungsten pigment that was not known in the West. Indeed it was not for another century that chemists in Europe became aware of it. In 1779, Peter Woulfe examined a mineral from Sweden and concluded it contained a new metal, but he did not separate it. Then in 1781, Wilhelm Scheele investigated it and succeeded in isolating an acidic white oxide and which he rightly deduced was the oxide of a new metal.
The credit for discovering tungsten goes to the brothers, Juan and Fausto Elhuyar, who were interested in mineralogy and were based at the Seminary at Vergara, in Spain, 1783 they produced the same acidic metal oxide and even reduced it to tungsten metal by heating with carbon.