It forms compounds with carbon, chlorine, oxygen, sulfur, and some other elements. It is hexavalent in its most important compounds. Tungsten metal is used extensively for filaments for light bulbs and electronic tubes. Carboloy , stellite, and tungsten steels are of importance in industry because they retain their hardness and strength at high temperatures. Tungsten is usually added to steel in the form of ferrotungsten, obtained by the reduction of ferrous tungstate in an electric furnace.
Tungsten carbide is used in place of diamond for dies and as an abrasive.
Sodium wolframate is used in the fireproofing of fabrics, in the weighting of silk, and as a mordant in dyeing. Tungsten is usually prepared from the trioxide by reduction with hydrogen or carbon. Tungsten was first isolated from tungstic acid in 1783 by the de Elhuyar brothers. Listing from Electric Library , a pay service. Copyright 2001 Infonautics Corporation .