From steel to tungsten to molybdenum, there are many materials that have become quite commonplace in the manufacturing world of the United States (as well as in various other aspects of manufacturing all throughout the world as a whole). For many people, knowledge about tungsten and molybdenum as well as various other important and impactful materials is minimal at best – however, this does not, of course, prevent such materials from being as useful and critical to the manufacturing world as they currently are.

In fact, molybdenum has been around for longer than many people realize, as it was first recognized as an element right at the end of the 18th century. Over the more than 200 years that have followed since, the uses for molybdenum have only continued to grow and molybdenum manufacturing methods and the general molybdenum manufacturing process has only continued to become more and ore refined as the years pass on, something that has been hugely beneficial for the world f manufacturing as a whole.

After all, molybdenum is a material that has many different potential uses, thanks the impressive melting point that it has. In fact, this melting point is so high that it dramatically exceeds 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, coming in at 4,748 degrees Fahrenheit to be exact. Because of this high melting point, it’s an extremely durable material, making it therefore ideal for many of the purposes of manufacturing that can be found not just here in the United States but all around the world as well.

But even more important than molybdenum is the element of tungsten. Tungsten has almost as long of a history as molybdenum, as it was first discovered all the way back in the year of 1781. However, tungsten has not been practically used for nearly as long, due to the fact that it was not given industry applications until as much as a century and a half after the initial discovery of this material. But in the year since, still quite some time, tungsten has proven to be an invaluable material – perhaps even one of the most important elements of them all, at least when it comes to the field and industry of manufacturing in the United States and all around the world.

As a matter of fact, the material of tungsten actually has an even higher melting point than that of molybdenum and certainly that of steel, as tungsten will not begin to melt until it reaches a temperature of at least 6,170 degrees Fahrenheit, which is simply mind blowing by just about any standards. And this is certainly not the only benefit that the material of tungsten provides.

In addition to this already impressive feature of tungsten, the tungsten manufacturing process is also ideal for the fact that tungsten is incredibly dense, about twice as dense as steel is. That makes it ideal, of course, for various applications in the manufacturing world. It’s also got the highest tensile strength of any element that has been discovered, as well as the lowest vapor pressure as well.

So why, then, is tungsten not used more frequently than steel? Why has steel become so commonly used not just here in the United States but all throughout the world as a whole? For one thing, steel is ideal for a number of different applications, from manufacturing to the building of infrastructure to even being used in the world of the automotive on a global scale.

Simply put, tungsten is just not all that easy to find, as it is a naturally occurring element. The elements that combine to make tungsten are very specific indeed, meaning that tungsten as an element is only actually found in just over one gram for every 1,000 kilograms of the Earth’s crust. So while tungsten is a very important element, it can be a quite scarce one as well, all things considered. In many cases, it is simply just easier to use steel, as steel is much more commonly found and obtained.