Why is tungsten used in the filament of a bulb?

Answer 1

Tungsten : Its high melting point makes tungsten suitable for aerospace and high temperature uses which include electrical, heating, and welding applications, notably in the GTAW process.
Melting point -3695 K (3422 °C, 6192 °F)
Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals, and because of this it is used for the filaments of light bulbs. It is alloyed with other metals to strengthen them - for example, for military armour and cutting tools...

Answer 2

Tungsten was chosen because it has the highest melting point of all metals. Why is this important? I'll explain below.

Light bulbs work by transferring a stream of electricity (more correctly, a stream of electrons) to the metal filament. The electrons cause the metal atoms to vibrate, and this vibration provides the metal lattice with excess energy which is transfered to heat.

When the metal is cooler than about 4000 F, it emits light in the Infrared regions - which humans cannot see (because of the excess electrons dropping from a higher energy level to a lower one). But above 4000 F, light is emitted in the visible region.

Now, here is where the melting point comes into play. All of this excess vibrational energy has to be released from the metal lattice, so it is transfered into vaporizing the metal atoms (i.e. melting the metal). The maximum temperature that the metal can "stand" before it wants to vaporize is the melting temperature.

After some time, too much of the metal vaporizes at one place and the filament breaks- the bulb no longer works and it's time to replace it. The higher the melting point of the metal, the longer the bulb will last. Hence why Tungsten is used!

Answer 3

The filament in a light bulb is made of a long, incredibly thin length of tungsten metal. In a typical 60-watt bulb, the tungsten filament is about 6.5 feet (2 meters) long but only one-hundredth of an inch thick. The tungsten is arranged in a double coil in order to fit it all in a small space. That is, the filament is wound up to make one coil, and then this coil is wound to make a larger coil. In a 60-watt bulb, the coil is less than an inch long.

Tungsten is used in nearly all incandescent light bulbs because it is an ideal filament material. In the next section, we'll find out why this is, and we'll examine the role of the glass bulb and inert gas.

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Answer 4

It is because it has the highest melting point among all the metals - 6200 degrees celcius. For withstanding the current & the heat in the bulb tungsten is used.

Answer 5

Because Thomas Edison tried everything he could think of, and found that a tungsten filament worked best. If he'd known why it should have been his first choice, he'd have tried it first. Instead, he used trial and error to figure it out before anybody could second-guess him.

Answer 6

Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals and lasts longer, is less brittle, and glows with a cleaner, whiter light.

Answer 7

Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals and lasts longer, is less brittle, and glows with a cleaner, whiter light.

Check the links below:

Answer 8

Tungsten has the highest melting point from all metals (above 3400 °C).

No any other metal with high melting point has reasonable price.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elements_by_melting_point

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Answer 9

no other metal can resist at that high temperature as ther tungsten has highest melting point it is used

i pay honor to thomas alva edison.

Answer 10

It is the most dense element on the periodic table and it happens to be metallic and current can pass through it heating it to brightness.