Tungsten Carbide

Tungsten carbide (WC) is an inorganic chemical compound (specifically, a carbide) containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. Colloquially among workers in various industries (such as machining and carpentry), tungsten carbide is often simply called carbide (without precise distinction from other carbides). Among the lay public, the growing popularity of tungsten carbide rings has led to some consumers calling the material just tungsten, despite the inaccuracy of the usage. In its most basic form, tungsten carbide is a fine gray powder, but it can be pressed and formed into shapes for use in industrial machinery, cutting tools, abrasives, other tools and instruments, and jewelry. Tungsten carbide is approximately three times stiffer than steel, with a Young's modulus of approximately 550 GPa, and is much denser than steel or titanium. It is comparable with corundum (α-Al₂O₃) or sapphire in hardness and can only be polished and finished with abrasives of superior hardness such as cubic boron nitride and diamond amongst others, in the form of powder, wheels, and compounds.