Dense chunk of metal (W)
adamlaneus
Posts: 6,969 ✭✭✭
A kilogram of Tungsten
Tungsten is a metal with a density very, very close to Gold. Almost the same.
I'll never have a slug of Gold like this, so I got one of these.
The dense little slug is very punishing on anything it hits when shipped. Probably best to order it alone and not have it shipped with another item.
I show a quarter for relative size.
Underneath is a "Metals Handbook" from 1948. About 1,300 pages of very dry technical information.
If I had taken the time to throw more light on the subject, I could have gotten a better depth of field. As it was, to get the quarter and book title in focus, I had to abandon getting the top of the cylinder in focus.
You can find a denser metal. But not one that is as close to the density of Gold. Fortunately, "Wolfram" is not terribly expensive. "Wolfram", an archaic name for this element comes from the mineral "Wolframite".
If somehow I could get this chunk hot enough to be brilliant white, bright as the sun, it would still not melt. But that should be obvious to everyone, as that is how incandescent bulbs work!
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Edited to say I should have clicked the link.
Click on this link to see my ebay listings.
<< <i>If somehow I could get this chunk hot enough to be brilliant white, bright as the sun, it would still not melt. But that should be obvious to everyone, as that is how incandescent bulbs work! >>
Dumb question ... if you can't melt it, how do you cast or form it? BTW that is one interesting store .. the seller is in the UK, and about 80% of the metal samples that he has, I'm not familiar with.
I believe powder metallurgy is used. Pure tungsten powder can be obtained chemically. Under the proper environment, meaning the correct atmosphere, the correct pressure and a temperature of somewhere around 2500F, Tungsten can be sintered (compressed under extreme pressure, temperature and inert atmosphere or vacuum) from that powder into larger forms. From there, fairly standard techniques of metal forming can be used such as rolling, drawing, etc.
The "rgbco" claims that most Tungsten is not quite at the theoretical density, and the product they produce is. But they do not explain more.
This particular slug is then turned on a lathe and all surfaces are nicely machined. As you can see, it has "luster" from the turning marks. It is a very, very hard metal and the corners of that cylinder are sharp. Don't drop it on your foot or it is hospital room time.
<< <i>Yes, furnaces cannot melt and pour this metal like other metals because of the temperatures involved.
I believe powder metallurgy is used. Pure tungsten powder can be obtained chemically. Under the proper environment, meaning the correct atmosphere, the correct pressure and a temperature of somewhere around 2500F, Tungsten can be sintered (compressed under extreme pressure, temperature and inert atmosphere or vacuum) from that powder into larger forms. From there, fairly standard techniques of metal forming can be used such as rolling, drawing, etc.
The "rgbco" claims that most Tungsten is not quite at the theoretical density, and the product they produce is. But they do not explain more.
This particular slug is then turned on a lathe and all surfaces are nicely machined. As you can see, it has "luster" from the turning marks. It is a very, very hard metal and the corners of that cylinder are sharp. Don't drop it on your foot or it is hospital room time. >>
Melting Point: 3422 �C
Boiling Point: 5555 �C
Info from Los Alamos
<< <i>BTW that is one interesting store .. the seller is in the UK, and about 80% of the metal samples that he has, I'm not familiar with. >>
I have bought some stuff from RGB before, I actually collect the chemical elements more than I do coins. They are of very high quality - they also make museum displays of the elements. Periodic Table Displays
Another seller of elements is Dave Hamric metallium who has a series of 'coins' made of many different metals and other elements. Once I visited Dave, and got to hold about a 6 inch long rod of iridium metal, about as wide as that tungsten piece. Iridium is denser than tungsten, and much more expensive!