Difference between revisions of "Timeline of tungsten"

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| 1779 || || Irish chemist {{w|Peter Woulfe}} examines a mineral from Sweden and realizes it contains a new type of metal.<ref name="Facts About Tungsten">{{cite web |title=Facts About Tungsten |url=https://www.livescience.com/38997-facts-about-tungsten.html |website=livescience.com |accessdate=10 August 2018}}</ref> ||
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| 1556 || || German mineralogist {{w|Georgius Agricola}} notes a material he calls ''lupi spuma'' ("wolf's foam"), which in [[w:German language|German]] is ''wolf rahm''. The mineral ore is today known as {{w|wolframite}} and is one of the main sources of tungsten. This explains the symbol "W" for the element.<ref name="The Chemical Element: A Historical Perspective"/> || {{w|Germany}}
 
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| 1781 || || "In 1781, Wilhelm Scheele continued the research on this new metal and isolated an acidic white oxide"<ref name="Facts About Tungsten"/> ||
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| 1779 || || Irish chemist {{w|Peter Woulfe}} examines a mineral from Sweden and realizes it contains a new type of metal.<ref name="Facts About Tungsten">{{cite web |title=Facts About Tungsten |url=https://www.livescience.com/38997-facts-about-tungsten.html |website=livescience.com |accessdate=10 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="The Chemical Element: A Historical Perspective"/> ||
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| 1781 || || German chemist {{w|Carl Wilhelm Scheele}} continues the research on the new metal and isolates an acidic white oxide.<ref name="Facts About Tungsten"/><ref name="The Chemical Element: A Historical Perspective"/> ||
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| 1781 || || The name "tungsten" (from [[w:swedish language|Swedish]] ''tung sten'', meaning "heavy stone"), is suggested by chemist {{w|Tobern Bergman}}.<ref name="The Chemical Element: A Historical Perspective">{{cite book |last1=Ede |first1=Andrew |title=The Chemical Element: A Historical Perspective |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=9FcyamrwwnMC&pg=PA125&dq=%22Elhuyar%22+%221783%22+%22tungsten%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVxIfKmuPcAhVCH5AKHYCfBd0Q6AEIVTAI#v=onepage&q=%22Elhuyar%22%20%221783%22%20%22tungsten%22&f=false}}</ref> || {{w|Sweden}}
 
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| 1783 || || Tungsten is first isolated by Spanish brothers {{w|Fausto Elhuyar}} and {{w|Juan José Elhuyar}}. They isolate the metal oxide from wolframite and reduce it to tungsten metal by heating it with carbon.<ref>{{cite book |last1=DK |title=1000 Inventions and Discoveries |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=IztIBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA110&dq=%22Elhuyar%22+%221783%22+%22tungsten%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjtwNi0mePcAhUGvJAKHf4JABoQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=%22Elhuyar%22%20%221783%22%20%22tungsten%22&f=false}}</ref><ref name="The Chemistry of Chromium, Molybdenum and Tungsten: Pergamon International Library of Science, Technology, Engineering and Social Studies">{{cite book |last1=Rollinson |first1=Carl L. |title=The Chemistry of Chromium, Molybdenum and Tungsten: Pergamon International Library of Science, Technology, Engineering and Social Studies |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=Bkr-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA742&dq=%22Elhuyar%22+%221783%22+%22tungsten%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjtwNi0mePcAhUGvJAKHf4JABoQ6AEIPjAE#v=onepage&q=%22Elhuyar%22%20%221783%22%20%22tungsten%22&f=false}}</ref> The brothers call the new metal ''wolfram''. Later it would change to ''tungsten''.<ref name="Chronology of Science"/> || {{w|Spain}}
 
| 1783 || || Tungsten is first isolated by Spanish brothers {{w|Fausto Elhuyar}} and {{w|Juan José Elhuyar}}. They isolate the metal oxide from wolframite and reduce it to tungsten metal by heating it with carbon.<ref>{{cite book |last1=DK |title=1000 Inventions and Discoveries |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=IztIBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA110&dq=%22Elhuyar%22+%221783%22+%22tungsten%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjtwNi0mePcAhUGvJAKHf4JABoQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=%22Elhuyar%22%20%221783%22%20%22tungsten%22&f=false}}</ref><ref name="The Chemistry of Chromium, Molybdenum and Tungsten: Pergamon International Library of Science, Technology, Engineering and Social Studies">{{cite book |last1=Rollinson |first1=Carl L. |title=The Chemistry of Chromium, Molybdenum and Tungsten: Pergamon International Library of Science, Technology, Engineering and Social Studies |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=Bkr-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA742&dq=%22Elhuyar%22+%221783%22+%22tungsten%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjtwNi0mePcAhUGvJAKHf4JABoQ6AEIPjAE#v=onepage&q=%22Elhuyar%22%20%221783%22%20%22tungsten%22&f=false}}</ref> The brothers call the new metal ''wolfram''. Later it would change to ''tungsten''.<ref name="Chronology of Science"/> || {{w|Spain}}

Revision as of 15:59, 10 August 2018

This is a timeline of tungsten.

Big picture

Time period Development summary
16th century Tungsten is first discovered in the 16th century by tin miners, who find and then recognize the metal as a newly useful and undiscovered asset.[1]
18th century Chemists begin identifying the elements that make up mater. In this century tungsten is first isolated.[2]
20th century In the 1930s, new applications arise for tungsten compounds in the oil industry for the hydrotreating of crude oils. In the 1940s, during World War II, the Germans are the first to use tungsten carbide core in high velocity armor piercing projectiles. In the 1950s, tungsten is added into superalloys to improve performance. In the 1960s, new catalysts are born containing tungsten compounds to treat exhaust gases in the oil industry.[3]
21st century Currently, most tungsten resources are found in China, South Korea, Bolivia, Great Britain, Russia and Portugal, as well as in California and Colorado. About 80% of world’s supply is controlled by China.[4] Today, tungsten carbide is extremely widespread, with applications including metal cutting, machining of wood, plastics, composites, soft ceramics, chipless forming, mining, construction, rock drilling, structural parts, wear parts, and military components. Tungsten-steel alloys are used in the production of rocket engine nozzles, and superalloys containing tungsten are used in turbine blades and wear-resistant parts and coatings.[3]

Full timeline

Year Event type Details Country/region
1556 German mineralogist Georgius Agricola notes a material he calls lupi spuma ("wolf's foam"), which in German is wolf rahm. The mineral ore is today known as wolframite and is one of the main sources of tungsten. This explains the symbol "W" for the element.[5] Germany
1779 Irish chemist Peter Woulfe examines a mineral from Sweden and realizes it contains a new type of metal.[4][5]
1781 German chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele continues the research on the new metal and isolates an acidic white oxide.[4][5]
1781 The name "tungsten" (from Swedish tung sten, meaning "heavy stone"), is suggested by chemist Tobern Bergman.[5] Sweden
1783 Tungsten is first isolated by Spanish brothers Fausto Elhuyar and Juan José Elhuyar. They isolate the metal oxide from wolframite and reduce it to tungsten metal by heating it with carbon.[6][7] The brothers call the new metal wolfram. Later it would change to tungsten.[2] Spain
1847 Engineer Robert Oxland is granted a patent to prepare, form, and reduce tungsten to its metallic format.[1]
1847 Tungsten salts are used to make colored cotton and to make clothes used for theatrical and other purposes fireproof.[3]
1855 Austrian chemist Franz Koller develops a tungsten steel.[1][3][7] Austria
1858 Steels containing tungsten begin to be produced.[1]
1868 Mushet starts to manufacture high-carbon-vanadium-manganese-tungsten steels in England.[7] United Kingdom
1895 American inventor Thomas Edison finds that calcium tungstate is the substance with the best ability to fluoresce when exposed to X-rays.[3] United States
1900 A special mix of steel and tungsten is exhibited at the World Exhibition in Paris.[3] France
1904 The first light bulbs using tungsten are patented.[1][7]
1908 William D. Coolidge discovers that tungsten is an ideal filament material.[4]
1909 Team led by American engineer William D. Coolidge working at General Electric discover a process that creates ductile tungsten filaments through suitable heat treatment and mechanical working.[3][7] United States
1911 The Coolidge process is commercialized. In a short time, tungsten light bulbs would spread all over the world equipped with ductile tungsten wires.[3] United States
1922 Tungsten is placed on the first official Government list of strategic minerals in the United States.[8] United States
1923 A German electrical bulb company submits a patent for tungsten carbide, or hardmetal. The carbide is made by "cementing" very hard tungsten monocarbide (WC) grains in a binder matrix of tough cobalt metal by liquid phase sintering. The resulting material combines high strenght, toughness and high hardness.[3] Germany
1977 China is the biggest and most important tungsten ore concentrate supplier.[9] China
1979 The first International Tungsten Symposium is held in Stockholm.[10] Sweden
1993 The price of tungsten reaches historical minimum, as a result of the collapse of the communist world together with a sudden fall in the worldwide tungsten consumption.[9]
1995 Production Two countries, China (69%), and the former Soviet Union (19%), account for over 80 percent of the world's production of tungsten.[11] China, Ex-USSR

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What the timeline is still missing

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]

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References