Hydrogen’s chemical symbol is H, and oxygen’s is O. This sensible state of affairs makes Chemistry 101 a little easier (for us English speakers) than it might otherwise be. The periodic table is not always so self-explanatory, however. You probably already know that the chemical symbol for iron is Fe, from the Latin word for iron, ferrum. Similarly, Ag stands for silver, which in Latin is argentum. Tungsten is a similar outlier, with its symbol W.
W stands for wolfram, an old Germanic synonym for tungsten. Wolfram‘s derivation is problematic, but it might mean “wolf-raven,” a German name. Wikipedia devotes an entire page to people named Wolfram. I have never met such a person, but the name has a dignified ring. And what red-blooded American boy would not like to be named Wolf Raven?
The word’s history is fuzzy, though. W0lfram might instead derive from “wolf-soot,” a derogatory term for an ore less valuable than tin. Part of the tin is lost when the tungsten-tin ore is smelted. Apparently, in this scenario, miners were pissed off by wolfram.
More straightforwardly, tungsten combines the Swedish words for “heavy” and “stone.” If you’re guessing tungsten is a heavy metal, you’re right. It’s in fact the heaviest. The website of the company Xometry gives tungsten this encomium: “As the heaviest known engineering metal, tungsten has earned the crown for strength, weight, and conductivity.” Yay, tungsten! It’s truly a heavy stone!
Tungsten lent its name to an entertaining 2001 memoir by Oliver Sacks, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood. Sacks’s Uncle David acquired the nickname based on the company he worked for, Tungstalite, which made light bulbs with tungsten filaments. This charming and sometimes sad book reveals Sacks’s extreme precociousness and scientific passion. And, get this, Oliver Sacks’s middle name is Wolf.
Who knew this English major would have two chemistry books to recommend? The other is The Periodic Table by Primo Levi, a chemist, memoirist, and survivor of Auschwitz. This 1984 collection consists of about twenty essays, each nominally devoted to an element, but wandering into personal reminiscences. The Royal Institution of Great Britain, I just read, voted it the best science book ever written in a 2006 poll. You will probably want to read the Best Science Book Ever.
We’ll have to forgive Levi, who–with essays on tin, arsenic, argon, titanium, and others–overlooks tungsten altogether.
Let us know in the comments. What’s your favorite science book? What’s your favorite element?
There was a RadioLab episode with Oliver Sacks talking about his love of the periodic table and elements. Not sure if I can add the link but it’s worth a listen! http://www.wnycstudios.org/story/archives-oliver-sacks-table-elements/