Tungsten - its strength and weakness
- davidrooke
- Mar 25, 2019
- 1 min read
Updated: Jun 27, 2022
WE love tungsten! At 3410 degrees C, it has the highest melting point of all metals. This makes it an incredibly useful metal, even if the green lobby manage to get rid of all the ordinary light bulbs out there. Electrical contacts, x-ray targets, windings & heating elements, space, missile, tools and any number of high temperature applications.
Tungsten’s very high melting point is also its weakness: It makes it very hard to work: Melting & casting is practically impossible, sawing, machining & forming very difficult.
Luckily tungsten is easily deposited by CVD, normally by the reaction of tungsten hexafluoride with hydrogen. This can be achieved at the modest temperature of 500 degrees C. Many different materials can be coated with a layer of tungsten from a micron to a few millimeters thick.
The relatively low deposition temperature means that steels can be coated (with a suitable interlayer) without distortion or the need for post-coating re-hardening.
By depositing a thick coating onto a removable/ dissolvable/ meltable/ burnable mould, free-standing CVD tungsten shapes can be created. Thin-walled, boats, tubes, crucibles in 100% dense, high purity tungsten can be made. This is practically impossible by any other route.
This was a very enjoyable post to read. The calm and reflective tone made it easy to connect with the ideas being shared. I appreciate how the author focused on everyday experiences and turned them into valuable lessons. As someone currently studying, I often read blogs like this to relax and gain perspective. At the same time, students sometimes search for the best assignment help website when they need support with complex subjects. Posts like this remind us that learning can come from both academic resources and personal reflection.
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