Tungsten carbide

Tungsten carbide, often simplified to carbide, is a material. It is a chemical compound of tungsten and carbon. It has the chemical formula .

Tungsten carbide is one of the hardest known materials.

 History 
Tungsten carbide was first discovered by Henri Moissan. Moissan was trying to make artificial diamonds from sugar and tungsten oxide. Instead, the sugar reduced the tungsten to make a hard but brittle ceramic. The addition of cobalt (making cemented carbide) allowed it to be made into useful shapes.

 Sources 

Category:Tungsten compounds
Category:Carbides
Category:Ceramics