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Introduction
 
Silicon is almost everywhere on earth.  It is found in almost all the rocks, clays, and sands that form the Earth's crust.  It is useful and important for us to have it.  Silicon helps with a lot of our everyday lives.  In this site, I will be talking about Silicon's history, and basically what it is and why it is important for us to have it.

The History of Silicon
 
The founders of Silicon are Davy, Gay Lussac, Thenard, and Barons Jon Jakob Berzelius.  But generally, out of these four founders, Berzelius was the one that was credited for the discovery.  Since Berzelius was the first to recognize silicon as an element in 1824, he was the one that discovered Silicon.

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Barons Jon Jakob Berzelius

General Properties

Silicon does not fall in the category of metal or nonmetal like many other elements.  It is a metalloid and lies in Group IV of the periodic table of elements.  Silicon is dark, grey and hard.  Its atomic number is fourteen and its chemical symbol is Si.  Silicon's boiling point is at 4270 degrees F(2355 degrees C) and its melting point is at 2570 degrees F (1410 degrees C).  It is heavy and has a density of 2.33 grams per cubic centimeter.  Silicon has a hardness of 6.5 on the Mohs scale.  It is harder than glass but is softer than a steel file.

Silicon Chip

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                                           Uses
 
Silicon is one of the most useful elements for people.  Some uses of silicon are the bricks and glasses that are used to help build buildings, and the electronic chips that are used for making computers, calculators, and refrigerators.  Silicon is also inside human bodies to help strengthen the bones and skin.  Aside from human benefits, Silicon is helpful for plants and animals.  The silica, which is a mixture of mostly oxygen and silicon, in the water, helps build the animal and plant's cell walls.  Basically, Silicon is useful in many ways.  It helps human with their building and technologhy and it helps animals with their cell walls.  Without Silicon in the world, I do not think that our world would be as advance in technologhy and building. 

 
 
                                          Bibliography
 
Thomas, Jens.  Silicon.  New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2002
 
Knapp, Brian.  Silicon.  UK: Atlantic Europe Publishing Company, 1996