Tungsten

Tungsten is the metal with the highest melting point of any element (3,422°C) and one of the highest densities. These properties make it irreplaceable in applications requiring extreme heat resistance or hardness: cutting tool inserts, lamp filaments, rocket nozzle linings, radiation shielding, and APFSDS High Density Shot. Tungsten is most commonly used as tungsten carbide rather than as a pure metal, formed by sintering tungsten powder with carbon at high temperatures to produce an exceptionally hard composite material. The reduction of tungsten ore to metal requires a hydrogen reduction step at high temperature, following conversion of the ore to ammonium paratungstate as an intermediate.