Name       : Silicon
Symbol     : Si
Atomic #   : 14
Atom weight: 28.0855
Melting P. : 1410
Boiling P. : 2355
Oxidation  : +2, +4, -4
Pronounced : SIL-i-ken
From       : Latin silex, silicus, "flint"
Identified : Jons Jacob Berzelius in 1824
Appearance : Amorphous form is brown powder; crystalline form has a gray
             metallic appearance
Note       : The seventh most abundant element in the cosmic

[Properties]

  Silicon is characterized as a crystalline semimetal, or metalloid. There
are actually two allotropic forms, however; a dark brown, powdery amorphous
form and the gray, metallic-looking crystalline form. The amorphous form is
best known for its presence in ordinary beach sand. The crystalline form is
best known for its impact upon modern civilization - as the foundation
material for electronic semiconductor components.
  In spite of the widespread existence of silicon dioxide, silicon is
relatively inert. Hydrofluoric acid is the only acid that corrodes silicon,
for example; many other reactions take place only at very high temperatures.
Silicon does react with the halogens and some of the alkalis, however.