3 ms·
Random historical medical anecdote, via xkcd: https://what-if.xkcd.com/89/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/89/ > "In September of 1994, a French soldier drank wine f
by elihu 4y ago
Random historical medical anecdote, via xkcd:
https://what-if.xkcd.com/89/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/89/
> "In September of 1994, a French soldier drank wine from a rifle barrel. Fifteen minutes later, he started having seizures. He was rushed to the hospital and treated for 'acute tungsten intoxication'—the first known case in medical history. He reportedly made a full recovery, although concentrations of tungsten were present in all his body tissues for weeks."
Grinding tungsten is also something that is done in TIG welding: it becomes periodically necessary to grind a new point on a tungsten electrode. (How often this is done varies according to how steady a person's hand is.) I think of this story about the French soldier as a good reminder not to lick my workbench next to the grinder.
- RF_Savage 4y agoI would worry about the thorium in thoriated TIG electrodes more than tungstens toxicity. Thankfully it is in the process of being phased out as an additive, too bad that it is a very good one, if you ignore the radioactivity.
- elihu 4y agoI've never tried (or wanted to try) thoriated tungsten. I've always just used lanthanated, and it seems to do the job. Last I checked, thoriated was cheaper, so maybe that's a draw for some people. I don't know if thoriated is better in any situations; I was under the impression than lanthanated works just as well.