The Formation of Tungsten Atoms

Articles concerned with tungsten history usually start by describing the discovery of tungsten ores, compounds, and the element. In reality, however, the history of tungsten began with the formation of the tungsten atoms, a very long time ago. 

The explanation—how elements have been formed and are still formed today— will be among the outstanding achievements in the history of natural science of the 20th century [2.1], Therefore, it seems worthwhile to discuss the formation of heavier elements, like tungsten. 

The rough schedule in Table 2.1 should give an idea as to the period of the universal evolution in which the element tungsten present in the solar system was formed. It was within the long period of 10 billion years, between the occurrence of the first stars in our galaxy and the formation of the solar system. 

The formation of elements is a long and complicated path of diverse nuclear reactions, which took place during the evolution of massive stars ( 8 times the solar mass). The raw material is always hydrogen, which was formed in addition to the smaller amounts of deuterium and helium shortly after the Big Bang. During the lifetime 

TABLE 2.1. Important Events in the Universe s Evolution (Time Table) 

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