Tungsten is the strongest metal known to man at this time. The name "tungsten" is taken from the Swedish word, tung sten, meaning "heavy stone," and is a tough, steel-gray to white metal. Tungsten is known as the metal for making filaments in common incandescent light bulbs. The application takes advantage of the fact that tungsten has the highest melting temperature of any metal. Its temperature can be raised to the point where it glows with a brilliant white light. Most other metals vaporize before they can produce much light. A lot of tungsten is also used in the manufacture of tungsten carbide. This is an extremely hard material that is used for making industrial cutting tools and abrasives. The remainder of the world's production of tungsten metal is used as an alloy in steel. Tungsten steel is noted for its toughness and stability at high temperatures. Nozzles for rocket engines, for example, are made from tungsten steel. The strongest metal compounds are intermetallic alloys. It is difficult to be specific, though, within the category of these compounds.
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