Silicon
There is more silicon in the Earth’s crust than any other element, except oxygen. Its atomic number is 14, its symbol is Si, and its melting point is 1414 degrees celsius.
From the Periodic Table at the Los Alamos Labs:
Silicon is one of man’s most useful elements. 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, one of the most inexpensive of materials with excellent mechanical, optical, thermal, and electrical properties. Glass can be made in a very great variety of shapes, and is used as containers, window glass, insulators, and thousands of other uses. Silicon tetrachloride can be used as iridize glass.
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