Pii

In 1800, Sir Humphry Davy thought silica to be a compound and not an element; but in 1811, Gay Lussac and Louis Jacques Thénard probably prepared impure amorphous silicon by heating potassium with silicon tetrafluoride.

In 1824 Jöns Jakob Berzelius prepared amorphous silicon by the same general method.

Henri Deville in 1854 first prepared crystalline silicon, the second allotropic form of the element.

In the form of sand and clay it is used to make concrete and brick; it is a useful refractory material for high-temperature work, and in the form of silicates it is used in making enamels, pottery, etc.

Silica, as sand, is a principal ingredient of glass.

Silicon chips are the basis of modern electronic and computing.

Silicon carbide, more commonly called carborundum is used in abrasives.