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
Melting-point apparatus Melting-point apparatus A melting-point apparatus is a scientific instrument used to determine the melting point of a substance. Some types of melting-point apparatuses include the Thiele tube, Fisher-Johns apparatus, Gallenkamp (Electronic) melting-point apparatus and automatic melting-point apparatus. While the outward designs of apparatuses can vary greatly, most apparatuses use a sample loaded into a sealed capillary ("melting-point capillary"), which is then placed in the apparatus. The sample is then heated, either by a heating block or an oil bath, and as the temperature increases, the sample is observed to determine when the phase change from solid to liquid occurs. The