Chemical elements · Directory entry

Tungsten

Element 74 · chemical symbol: W

These Vrulum profiles mention Tungsten by name. Read each profile for its specific context; a mention alone does not establish composition, performance or use of the pure element.

For periodic-table data and other properties, consult the Royal Society of Chemistry periodic table.

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Research and prototypes

Bioresorbable (transient) electronics

Bioresorbable electronics are working circuits, sensors and stimulators made from materials designed to dissolve in the body after a set time. They aim to provide temporary implants, such as short-term pacemakers or brain pressure monitors, that never need surgical removal.

Research and prototypes

In-space manufacturing

In-space manufacturing means making, repairing or recycling parts and materials in orbit rather than launching everything from Earth. Early results include optical fibre drawn on the International Space Station, a small semiconductor crystal grown on the China Space Station, and a pharmaceutical crystal form made on a commercial capsule. Most results are reported by the organisations that ran the experiments, only some have been published in peer-reviewed journals, and none has yet been shown to work as a repeatable production process.

Research and prototypes

Thin-film flexible robots

Thin-film flexible robots are less than a millimetre thick and are built from flexible circuit films. They creep across surfaces and into narrow gaps using electrostatic forces, and a 2026 laboratory prototype was shown inspecting a gap and grinding and machining test workpieces, although it still depends on external high-voltage equipment.