Tungsten is a metal as heavy as gold (density 19.3 g /cm³), as hard as diamond (in the form of tungsten carbide) and so heat-resistant, that iron is already boiling before tungsten melts (melting point: 3422 °C).
The sheer variety of applications of the element with the symbol W is impressive. Today, due to its specific properties, tungsten is indispensable for the modern high-tech industry. By having the highest melting point of all metals, it is ideally suited for high temperature applications in energy and lighting technology, as well as aerospace industry.
Given its very high density, comparable to that of gold, it is used as a gyrating mass, counterweight or for vibration damper in aerospace, automotive, sport and telecommunications technologies.
It also serves as a replacement for lead and ‘in radiation’ protection in medical engineering. In combination with carbon as tungsten carbide it also has hardness similar to diamonds and forms the basis for modern cutting and drilling tools for processing of metal, stone, wood and plastics. The spectrum ranges from drills as fine as a hair for electronic circuit boards through to tools for drilling in engineering, as well as in road and rail tunnels applications.
