---
title: "Tungsten (W) — element 74"
description: "Tungsten is element 74, symbol W, atomic weight 183.84. Configuration, properties, uses and neighbours."
url: https://atoneplace.net/element/tungsten/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Tungsten (W)

**Tungsten — element 74: W**

183.84 u · Transition metal · period 6, group 6

Tungsten melts at 3,422 °C, the highest of any metal and beaten among all elements only by carbon, which is why every incandescent bulb ever made used a tungsten filament. It is also almost exactly as dense as gold — 19.3 against 19.3 — which is the basis of the classic gold bar fraud, a tungsten core with a gold shell, detectable only by ultrasound or by careful conductivity testing. Its symbol W comes from wolfram, the German name, from wolf rahm: medieval tin smelters found the ore "devoured tin like a wolf devours sheep".

## Properties

- **Atomic number:** 74
- **Symbol:** W
- **Standard atomic weight:** 183.84 u
- **Category:** Transition metal
- **Group:** 6
- **Period:** 6
- **Block:** d-block
- **Electron configuration:** [Xe] 6s² 4f¹⁴ 5d⁴
- **Electrons per shell:** 2, 8, 18, 32, 12, 2
- **Melting point:** 3,695 K — 3421.8 °C — 6191.3 °F
- **Boiling point:** 5,828 K — 5554.9 °C — 10030.7 °F
- **Density:** 19.3 g/cm³
- **Electronegativity:** 2.36 (Pauling)
- **Oxidation states:** +6, +4
- **Discovered:** 1783 by Juan José and Fausto Elhuyar

## Electron configuration

- **Full:** 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f¹⁴ 5d⁴
- **Noble gas shorthand:** [Xe] 6s² 4f¹⁴ 5d⁴
- **Shells:** K: 2 · L: 8 · M: 18 · N: 32 · O: 12 · P: 2

## What it is used for

- Tungsten carbide cutting tools, drill bits and mining picks
- Incandescent and halogen lamp filaments
- TIG welding electrodes
- Radiation shielding and aircraft ballast weights, replacing lead
- Armour-piercing penetrators and hunting shot

## Neighbours in the table

| Z | Element | Symbol | Mass |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 72 | Hafnium | Hf | 178.49 |
| 73 | Tantalum | Ta | 180.95 |
| 74 | Tungsten ← | W | 183.84 |
| 75 | Rhenium | Re | 186.21 |
| 76 | Osmium | Os | 190.23 |

## Group 6

Elements in the same group share their outer electron count, which is why they behave similarly in reactions. Tungsten sits in group 6 with chromium, molybdenum, seaborgium.

## Common questions

### What is the atomic number of tungsten?

74. That is the number of protons in its nucleus, which is what defines the element.

### What is the symbol for tungsten?

W.

### What is the electron configuration of tungsten?

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f¹⁴ 5d⁴, or [Xe] 6s² 4f¹⁴ 5d⁴ in noble-gas shorthand.

### What is the melting point of tungsten?

3,695 K — 3421.8 °C — 6191.3 °F

## Related pages

- [Hafnium (Hf)](https://atoneplace.net/element/hafnium/)
- [Tantalum (Ta)](https://atoneplace.net/element/tantalum/)
- [Rhenium (Re)](https://atoneplace.net/element/rhenium/)
- [Osmium (Os)](https://atoneplace.net/element/osmium/)
- [Chromium (Cr)](https://atoneplace.net/element/chromium/)
- [Molybdenum (Mo)](https://atoneplace.net/element/molybdenum/)
- [Seaborgium (Sg)](https://atoneplace.net/element/seaborgium/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)