Titanium and tungsten are two elements found in nature in their solid form at most times and have many uses. Their prime use is in the making of jewelry and used for accessorizing places.
They provide the classic shine like the rest of their jewelry metal counterparts like gold, platinum, and silver. They also have many other uses in other fields for making types of equipment, etc.
Tungsten vs Titanium
The main difference between tungsten and titanium is that while titanium is in a much lower position in the periodic table with an atomic number of 22, tungsten is much higher in its position in the periodic table with a greater atomic number of 74. This difference in the position of elements in the periodic table gives each element the differences in both their physical as well as chemical properties.
Tungsten has an atomic number of 74 and is located towards the left side of the periodic table a bit closer to the metals. It has all the properties that make it the best element to be used in place of many other elements that are used in making jewelry. Other features of tungsten include its shining nature that gives jewelry extra bling while being made.
Titanium is an element located on the right side of the periodic table along with all the metals and has an atomic number of 22. All of the titanium properties help it in jewelry production as well as in its assistance in nuclear power plants. It is very rare and the places of its extraction have a high GDP value.
Comparison Table Between Tungsten and Titanium
| Parameters of Comparison | Tungsten | Titanium |
| Mohs Resistance | 8-9 | 6 |
| Melting Point | 6192 F | 3032 F |
| Chemical Symbol | W | Ti |
| Atomic Number | 74 | 22 |
| Color In Solid State | Dark grey | Light metallic grey |
What is Tungsten?
Tungsten is an element that has an atomic number of 74 and is a metal found on the crust of the earth.
It is extracted in its solid form but on very rare occasions tungsten is also found in gaseous as well as liquid form.
It has a chemical symbol that is more commonly used to refer to the element as its real name is a bit hard. The chemical symbol is the English alphabet W.
The natural form of tungsten comes in a slight grayish to a dark metallic color. This is understood as its closeness to graphite in the table is justified.
They all have similar chemical as well as physical properties.
Tungsten has a high melting point and is a very hard and highly resistant metal.
It has a Mohs resistance order of 8 or 9 and is one of the highest for metals.
Mohs resistance is the scale that is used to measure the scratch resistivity of any element and the depth of each scratch as well as the effect on the material.
As tungsten is even scratch resistant to such a high level, it’s normal for its melting point to be as high as 6192 Fahrenheit.
Tungsten is commonly known for the weight of the element. It weighs heavy even for a small milligram of the metal.
Among most of its physical characteristics, its weight is one of the things that highlight its usage as a jewelry-making metal.
The weight creates a path for a smaller amount of metal that could be rolled into the desired jewel.
This is a cost-effective way to make custom jewelry such as wedding rings and wedding bands.
This is fairly easy to extract elements for its most common form available in nature is its solid form found accumulated in between rocks under the crust.
The chemical symbol that is used for ease of usage of the element name is Ti. It is short for titanium by giving the first two letters of the element.
It has a solid metallic grey color while in its ore and this color doesn’t see much change even after going through all the processes of extracting from the metallic ore.
Titanium has a comparatively low melting point which is accompanied by its lightweight physical property.
This scratch resistivity is a highly liked factor about titanium when used for making jewelry.
It is also harder than most other metals used for making bands and rings. This gives it a greater value as it can hold up pretty well to all kinds of external forces.
It is not known to tarnish easily and has a shine that lasts for a longer amount of time.
Due to its lightweight, it is easier to engrave things onto titanium for customized wedding rings.
Titanium is also used for the construction of many types of equipment and other objects used in a nuclear power plant.
Main Differences Between Tungsten and Titanium
- While the chemical symbol of tungsten is the English alphabet “W”, the chemical symbol for titanium is in the form of two English alphabets and is ” Ti”.
- Titanium being a much lighter element is easier to engrave things onto whereas tungsten is really hard to engrave things on and laser cuts have to be used.
- While the melting point of titanium is very low, that of tungsten is high and is usually measured in Fahrenheit or kelvin.
- The atomic number of tungsten is 74 and the atomic number of titanium is only 22, which indicates that they are both slightly different in their physical and chemical properties.
- The color of tungsten in its solid state is a dark metal whereas the color of titanium in its solid state is a bit lighter and a slight metallic grey.
Conclusion
Tungsten and titanium are seen as the alternative metals in the jewelry field as they have now started replacing gold and silver along with platinum.
Even though the applications of both are similar, they differ greatly in many other properties such as their physical and chemical properties.
The hardness of each metal is one point of their major differences. As tungsten is harder, it is also more durable.
Both are malleable and also ductile, hence making them both easier to be molded into the most desired shape while jewelry making.
They are also used for making many different pieces of equipment and also parts of electronic devices.
References
- https://aip.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1063/1.1726787
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=HgzukknbNGAC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=titanium&ots=K12Wki3AWQ&sig=elSKqVgT9q0K6m-Sa14YZvmhyPE