Tungsten wire is used for lamp lighting due to its heat tolerance. It can be pure or doped with elements like potassium, aluminum, silicon, thorium, rhenium, or molybdenum to modify its properties. Different types are used for various applications, including hospital devices, vacuum tubes, microwave ovens, and thermocouples.
Tungsten wire can vary in size, use and appearance. The most common application for this wire is for lamp lighting, because tungsten is very heat tolerant. Halogen, fluorescent and incandescent lights use the thinnest type, usually with a diameter between 001 inch (0254 millimeter) and 1 inch (2.54 millimeter).
Pure tungsten wire can be classified as Type 1A or Type 1B. Type 1A wire has non-compliance properties, typically used in hospital devices such as LEEP electrodes, thermionic emitters, and corona generation. Type 1B can be used for products that use glass-to-metal seals, such as vacuum tubes, reed switches, and incandescent bulbs; these wires are usually 99.95 percent pure and are excellent conductors of heat and electricity. Pure tungsten wires are usually greater than 20 inches (5.08 millimeters) in diameter. They are so heat resistant that some manufactured tungsten wire can have a melting point of around 6,150° Fahrenheit (3,400° Celsius).
Another type of tungsten wire is doped wire. This means that some elements have been added to somehow modify its strength and resistance. Doping also alters its chemical structure and the thread will have an interlocking composition which will make it stronger. Three elements are commonly used in tungsten doping: potassium, aluminum and silicon. This type of wire ranges from .001 inches (.0254 millimeters) to .250 inches (6.35 millimeters) thick and is used for lamp wires and filaments.
Another chemical called thorium can also be mixed with tungsten to make a specialized wire. Type 2A is the thoriated filament wire with only 1% thorium, while type 2B has 2%. These wires can be manufactured to a wire-like thinness and used for microwave ovens and plasma pan/tilt. This type of tungsten wire is said to be 50% more effective as an electrical conductor.
Tungsten wire can also be mixed with another element called rhenium. Tungsten and rhenium can effectively create efficient metal alloys because they both have very high melting points of 6.192°F (3.422°C) and 5.767°F (3.186°C), respectively. This type of wire is used when very high heat is required, such as in thermocouples. Tungsten-rhenium wires are classified by the percentage of rhenium included. WR30 has 3% rhenium, WR200 has 20%, while WR250 has 25%. All of these types are highly resilient, strong, and resistant to corrosion.
Another element used to make alloy wires is molybdenum, as it also has a high melting point of 4.753°F (2.623°C). Both molybdenum and tungsten have very similar chemical characteristics making them ideal for alloys. This type of tungsten wire can be used in furnaces, automobiles, and even airplanes, as it’s also resistant to heat and corrosion.
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