Tungsten carbide is a dense, metallike substance, light gray with a bluish tinge, that decomposes, rather than melts, at 2,600° C (4,700° F). It is prepared by heating powdered tungsten with carbon black in the presence of hydrogen at 1,400°–1,600° C (2,550°–2,900° F). For fabrication, a process developed in the 1920s is employed: the ...