If you did not know already, Tungsten is the metal used in light bulbs in real life. It CAN be relativity close to the surface in real life, but it is easier to get the deeper into the Earth you go. Maybe we can incorporate it somehow to make torches/light bulbs. (PS: Tungsten is black/brown/grey/purple)
sounds like a good idea, maybe you could have "Element planets" that are planet sized asteroids made of small amounts of rock and one type of particular element.
I think the more ores / minerals / underground goodies, the better. Not all necessarily for making armor etc. but like you say for lighting and other electronic devices. Great idea!
this is cool! I have an idea. You randomly put something electric next to it, and it lights up very dimly. it will light up the whole pocket.
I think they could be used as lightbulbs instead of torches, lightbulbs will be brighter, but they will require this, which will be rarer.
The ores that are refined into tungsten are wolframite and Scheelite, if you're curious. It is also used in weaponry, being toxic (interferes with Molybdenum and Copper metabolism), denser than lead, and reasonably ductile at high purity (Easily obtained via electrolysis. Note, this is lack of impurities. If alloyed, it does not become brittle). It is also the heaviest element known to be used in any living organism. Sometimes a component in superalloys, due to the fact that its hardness exceeds almost all steels. However, alloying steel and tungsten greatly increases the hardness of the resulting alloy. Also, I can see having to find tungsten to create some types of light source, but why would using it make the torch any brighter? What would be the more common inferior metal used?