Where can silicon be found?

Pure silicon cannot be found in nature but is found in a number of compounds. These compounds are usually oxides, and silicon oxides are found as sand and as silicate minerals. Silicon makes up about a quarter of the earth's crust, so there is plenty of it to go around. Silicon is a nonmetallic element and very abundant in nature. Its atomic number is 14. Silicon was discovered by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist, in 1824 by heating chips of potassium in a silica container and then carefully washing away the residual by-products. Silicon is the seventh most abundant element in the universe. Today, silicon is produced by heating sand (SiO2) with carbon to temperatures approaching 2200°C. Silicon is also is A non-metallic element occurring extensively in the earth's crust in silica and silicates, having both an amorphous and a crystalline allotrope, and used doped or in combination with other materials in glass, semi-conducting devices, concrete, brick, refractories, pottery, and silicones. There is a Latin Word in silicon called 'silex' meaning flint in Latin. Silicon is classified as a "Metalloid" element and is located in Groups 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 of the Periodic Table. An element classified as a Metalloid has properties of both metals and non-metals. Some are semi-conductors and can carry an electrical charge making them useful in calculators and computers. Silicon was first identified by Antoine Lavoisier in 1787. Re-discovered by Jons Berzelius in 1823. The high-tech region of Silicon Valley, California, is named after this element. Silicon is presented in the sun and stars. Silicon forms other useful compounds. Silicon carbide (SiC) is nearly as hard as diamond and is used as an abrasive. Sodium silicate (Na2SiO3), also known as water glass, is used in the production of soaps, adhesives and as an egg preservative. Silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) is used to create smoke screens. Silicon is also an important ingredient in silicone, a class of material that is used for such things as lubricants, polishing agents, electrical insulators and medical implants.