Tungsten General Electric's attempt to patent it, overturning granted in 1913 to William D. Coolidge. Tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with symbol W and atomic number 74. The name "tungsten" comes from the former Swedish name for the tungstate mineral "scheelite", "tung sten" or "heavy stone". Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively combined with other elements in chemical compounds rather than alone. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolated as a metal in 1783. Its important ores include wolframite and scheelite. The free element is remarkable for its
Pressure melting point Pressure melting point The pressure melting point is the temperature at which ice melts at a given pressure. The pressure melting point is nearly a constant 0 °C at pressures above the triple point at 611.7 Pa, where water can exist in only the solid or liquid phases, through atmospheric pressure (100 kPa) until about 10 MPa. With increasing pressure above 10 MPa, the pressure melting point decreases to a minimum of −21.9 °C at 209.9 MPa. Thereafter, the pressure melting point rises rapidly with pressure, passing back through 0 °C at 632.4 MPa. Glaciers are subject to geothermal heat