Tungsten

Tungsten does not melt until about 3,422 degrees Celsius, hotter than any other metal. That is why it was chosen for old light-bulb filaments and is still used in parts that face extreme heat.

Carbon is not a metal, but it holds the title for any element: it turns straight from solid to gas near 3,600 °C instead of melting under normal pressure.

Context

Tungsten has the chemical symbol W, from its alternative name wolfram. It was isolated in 1783 by the Spanish brothers Juan José and Fausto Elhuyar, and it has the highest melting point of any metal and one of the highest of all elements.

Its melting point of 3,422 degrees Celsius is about 3,695 kelvin. Because the metal is so heat-resistant, it is hard to cast, so it is usually shaped as powder through sintering and then worked. For light bulbs, it can glow white-hot without melting.

Besides filaments, tungsten and its alloys and carbides are used for cutting tools, electrodes, and some radiation shielding and aerospace parts. Rhenium comes next among metals, melting at roughly 3,186 degrees Celsius. Published values differ by a few degrees depending on purity and measurement method. Its high melting point comes from very strong bonding between its atoms, which is why it also keeps its strength at temperatures where most metals would soften.