Tungsten carbide

Tungsten carbide, often simplified to carbide, is a material. It is a chemical compound of tungsten and carbon. It has the chemical formula WC.

Tungsten carbide is one of the hardest known materials.

History

Tungsten carbide was first discovered by Henri Moissan. Moissan was trying to make artificial diamonds from sugar and tungsten oxide. Instead, the sugar reduced the tungsten to make a hard but brittle ceramic. The addition of cobalt (making cemented carbide) allowed it to be made into useful shapes.