Of late tungsten is shaking off its obscurity (its biggest industrial use having been as light bulb filaments) and is gaining popularity as a cheaper alternative with which to make jewelry from. Because of its hardness when alloyed with carbon it is also the metal of choice with which to make cutting tools that resist wear much better than ordinary steel. In fact, tungsten takes the crown of all metals when it comes to tensile strength; that is, the ability of a metal to resist deformation, like bending under a load. There are good reasons though why you don’t see it being used in the making of bridges and skyscrapers. It is, on top of being rather expensive, very brittle and difficult to work with. That and the fact it’s so heavy that tungsten buildings and skyscrapers would likely just sink straight into the ground!

CAS 7440-33-7