I came upon a perplexing question today....What is used to contain the elements with the highest boiling points? wouldn't everything that was used to contain it just melt?
-
Although some elements have extremely high boiling points, they remain at a moderate temperature in the lab, in the classroom, in nature. If you are asking about times when these elements go beyond those points, either it is, as you say, they melt the container, or it is in a natural occurrence --such as a volcanic action-- and obviously those aren't contained :). For most elements, the boiling point is found by calculations or by quickly heating and cooling the substance. The elements with such high boiling points, however, are probably rarely used at anything beyond their temperature, and it is their high boiling point that makes them so suitable for heat conduction and similar functions.