Talk:Tungsten

Article changed over to new WikiProject Elements format by maveric149

Information Sources

Some of the text in this entry was rewritten from Los Alamos National Laboratory - Magnesium. Additional text was taken directly from USGS Tungsten Statistics and Information, from the Elements database 20001107 (via dict.org), Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (via dict.org) and WordNet (r) 1.7 (via dict.org). Data for the table was obtained from the sources listed on the subject page and WikiProject Elements but was reformatted and converted into SI units.

---

Talk

---

Are +2, +3, +4, +5 common oxidation states?

I also question this. By far the most common oxidation state is +6, as found in WO₃, WO₄^-2, H₂W₁₂O₄₀^-6 , etc

I have modified the page to reflect this. Humanist

---

Wolfram is German word, right?

I thought Wolfram was a German word, and so the "W" symbol was the only chemical element symbol to come from a language other than Latin. But the article claims a Latin form. Isn't it more likely that the Latin form is modern, taken from the German?

Likely, I heard that the word comes from an archaic german form of "wolf-rust" or similar... Maybe we should add "New Latin" or something.

---

It's not latin: don't be misled by the "ium" in "Wolframium" My understanding of the naming is:

• The mineral Wolframite (origin of name unknown)
  • Extracted from this was a metal named Wolfram after the mineral
    • Chemists gave it a technical english name of "Wolframium", giving it the "ium" ending of a metal. see this 1913 dictionary entry: http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/wolframium
    • Everyone ignores them and calls it Tungsten, Germans stick with Wolfram

Malcolm Farmer 23:06, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)

---

Here are some references and suggestions. Somebody else may put it into a useful edit of the article.

This [1] includes the etymology of Wolframite \Wol"fram*ite\, n. [G., wolframit, wolfram; wolf wolf + rahm cream, soot; cf. G. wolfsruss wolfram, lit., wolf's soot.] (Min.)

[2] (also contains other reference data): Tungsten - (Swedish, tung sten, heavy stone); also known as wolfram (from wolframite, said to be named from wolf rahm or spumi lupi, because the ore interfered with the smelting of tin and was supposed to devour the tin)

http://www.tungsten.com/tunghist.html however gives a more detailed etymology than most dictionaries and it appears that the origin of the word wolfram is more or less obscure.

The name "wolframium" seems to be only of historical interest (but definitely label it New Latin). It shouldn't be mentioned in the lead paragraph (the W symbol is already explained with wolfram), but in the history section where there is more room for writing things out and explaining, together with "spumi lupi".

>> wolframite (which was later named for Woulfe)

I removed it until somebody can provide a cite for it. It seems that "wolf-rahm" was used well before Woulfe, and I couldn't find any connection to the common convention (introduced 1820 by A. Breithaupt) to give the name "wolframite" to the mineral.

>> In 1781 Carl Wilhelm Scheele ascertained that a new acid could be made from tungstenite

I believe Scheele worked on "tung sten", later named "scheelite" after him, which would be calcium tungstate (the 'compound of tungstic acid and lime'). However, tungstenite is tungsten sulfide in modern use. Could somebody check this?

Femto 20:53, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Tungsten Oxide

I thought tungsten oxide is a volatile oxide (hence not protective), which is why light bulbs need to be evacuated or filled with inert gas - to prevent the oxidation of the tungsten at elevated temperatures.

It depends on the temperature: "Forms a protective oxide in air and can be oxidized at high temperature." [3] (added to article) Femto 20:53, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)