tungsten
Let an agent explain tungsten as an element and material, relay its properties, uses, supply and trade information from reference and regulatory sources, and separate the metal from its carbide and other compounds.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Element What tungsten is.
Properties
Properties.
Properties
Properties.
- What are the physical and chemical properties and isotopes of tungsten? definition
- Is the question about the metal, the carbide or a compound? boundary
Production
Ores and production.
Production
Production.
- Where is tungsten mined, and how is it refined? provenance
- Which entry fits tungsten mining? action
Use Applications.
Applications
Uses.
Applications
Applications.
- How is tungsten used in tools, filaments, alloys and shielding? provenance
- Which entry fits tungsten carbide? action
Supply
Supply and trade.
Supply
Supply.
- What are production volumes, producers and criticality assessments, with sources? measurement
- Which sources and years are cited? provenance
Rules Regulation and safety.
Sourcing
Conflict minerals.
Sourcing
Sourcing.
- What due diligence rules apply to tungsten sourcing? provenance
- Which entry fits conflict minerals? action
Health
Occupational health.
Health
Health.
- What health hazards arise from tungsten and hard metal dust, and what limits apply? provenance
- Is the question about a specific workplace, which needs its safety officer? boundary
Context History and research.
History
Discovery and names.
History
History.
- How was tungsten discovered, and why does it have two names? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Research
Research.
Research
Research.
- What research involves tungsten, such as fusion reactor walls and recycling? provenance
- Which entry fits fusion materials? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.MAT
- Other names and narrower kinds
- allotrope of tungsten, tungsten-176, tungsten-158, tungsten-158m, tungsten-159, tungsten-160, tungsten-161, tungsten-162, tungsten-163, tungsten-164, tungsten-165, tungsten-166
What it is Filled
A hard, dense, grey metal, chemical element 74, with the highest melting point of all metals; obtained from wolframite and scheelite ores and used in cutting tools as tungsten carbide, in lamp filaments, electrical contacts, high-temperature alloys, radiation shielding and ammunition, and classified as a critical raw material in several economies.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain tungsten as an element and material, relay its properties, uses, supply and trade information from reference and regulatory sources, and separate the metal from its carbide and other compounds.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Highest melting point among metals
- Very dense and hard
- Carbide is the main industrial form
- Supply concentrated in a few countries
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Help source tungsten from mines that fund armed conflict or use forced labour.
- Encourage machining or grinding tungsten carbide without dust controls.
- Misdescribe tungsten alloys as other metals in trade or jewellery.
Only with a human decision
- Approving a supplier of tungsten ore.
May
- Explain tungsten's properties, ores and uses in tools, filaments and alloys.
- Report supply chain data, including conflict mineral due diligence, from published sources.
Moral aspects Filled
- Tungsten is one of the minerals whose trade has funded armed conflict.
- Workers grinding hard metals risk lung disease.
Who is affected
- Miners and their communities
- Machinists
- Buyers
Owners Filled
Steward
The person or company that holds it; mineral traders under due diligence rules.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q105789 - registry parent class
related
- transition metal - the classification
- tungsten carbide - the main industrial product
- wolframite and scheelite - the ores
- critical raw material - supply policy
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.tungsten
- Wikidata: Q743 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q743)
- chemical symbol: W from wolfram
- CAS number: 7440-33-7
Direct properties required Filled
- atomic number: 74
- melting point: about 3422 degrees C - highest of all metals
- density: about 19.3 g per cubic centimetre - similar to gold
Recognition required Filled
- Element 74, very dense
- Highest melting point of metals
- Tungsten carbide is a compound used in tools
- Grey-white lustrous metal, very heavy and hard.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain properties and isotopes
- explain uses and how it is produced
- relay supply and criticality information
- distinguish the metal from tungsten carbide
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Hard metal lung disease from carbide and cobalt dust
- Supply disruption
- Conflict minerals sourcing issues
- Confusing tungsten with tungsten carbide
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Conflict minerals rules covering tungsten in the US and EU
- Critical raw material lists
- Occupational exposure limits for tungsten and cobalt hard metal dust
Context of use required Filled
- Hard and heat-resistant materials.
- tungsten metal
- tungsten carbide and hard metals
- tungsten alloys and heavy alloys
- tungsten compounds such as tungstates
- tungsten isotopes
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q743: tungsten - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Tungsten - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should tungsten carbide be a separate entry?
- How should supply and trade data be linked?
- The registry entry has merged isotope aliases; should they be split off?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q743/spec.json