Tungsten

The highest melting point of any metal at 3422 °C, which is why it was the filament material for a century of light bulbs. It is also nearly as dense as gold and a fraction of the price, so it is the standard substitute wherever mass in a small volume is what you are buying — golf club weights, dart barrels, and fake gold bars. The 550-1900 MPa span is sintered bar to fine drawn wire; drawing aligns the grains and transforms it.

Properties

Density

19,250 kg/m³ — 19.25 g/cm³

Melting point

3,422 °C

Tensile strength

550–1900 MPa

Young's modulus

411 GPa

Thermal conductivity

173 W/(m·K)

Thermal expansion

4.5 µm/(m·K)

Floats in water

No

Magnetic

No

What it is used for

• Incandescent and halogen lamp filaments
• TIG welding electrodes
• Radiation shielding and aircraft ballast weights
• Armour-piercing and hunting projectiles

How it compares

Does it rust?

Tungsten does not rust — rust is iron oxide specifically — but it does corrode, forming its own oxide or salts over time.

Is it magnetic?

Tungsten is not ferromagnetic. It is often assumed to be because it is a metal, but most metals are not — only iron, nickel, cobalt and a few alloys are attracted to an ordinary magnet.