Tungsten - Atomic Number 74 Traditional Cache
Tungsten - Atomic Number 74
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This cache is the sixth in a series of 22 hides to be named after
chemical elements and placed on Ramsey streets (and sometimes
points North) with the same name. The series will speed up the
qualification requirements for challenge cache
GC2P5TJ, since some already published elements
require traveling great distances. The closest cache named
Tungsten is located in Nebraska, 320 miles
Southwest.
History: Tungsten used to be 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). The de Elhuyar brothers found an acid
in wolframite in 1783 that they succeeded in reducing to the
elemental metal with charcoal.
Sources: Tungsten is found in wolframite
(iron-manganese tungstate, FeWO4/MnWO4) and
scheelite (calcium tungstate, CaWO4) ores. China
produces 75% of the world's tungsten.
Uses:
- useful for glass-to-metal seals since the thermal expansion is
about the same as borosilicate glass
- tungsten and its alloys are used extensively for filaments for
electric lamps, electron and television tubes, and for metal
evaporation work
- electrical contact points for car distributors
- X-ray targets
- windings and heating elements for electrical furnaces
- missile and high-temperature applications
- high-speed tool steels and many other alloys contain
tungsten
- the carbide is important to the metal-working, mining, and
petroleum industries
- calcium and magnesium tungstates are widely used in fluorescent
lighting
- tungsten salts are used in the chemical and tanning
industries
- tungsten disulphide is a dry, high-temperature lubricant,
stable to 500°C
- tungsten bronzes and other tungsten compounds are used in
paints
- TV tubes (electron tubes)
Additional Hints
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Treasures
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