Updated October 23, 2010

Silicon is the second most abundant element within the Earth's crust. Number one is oxygen in case you were wondering, the next three in order are aluminum, iron and calcium.

You are no doubt familiar with Moore's law that says that silicon microcircuit complexity doubles about every 18 months. A corollary to Moore's law is, "anything that can be made of silicon, should be made of silicon.

Resistivity varies widely with supplier, it's dependent on doping density. The values given in the table are typical.

Formula or Composition:	Si
Dielectric Constant ():	11.7
Dissipation Factor (a.k.a. loss tangent, or tan):
Temperature Coefficient of :	ppm/°C
Bulk Resistivity:	2000 ohm-cm (high resistivity) 10 ohm-cm (low resistivity)
Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity (TCR):	ppm/°C
Mass Density:	2.33 gr/cc
Specific Heat:	0.702 J/g/°C
Thermal Conductivity (k):	40 W/m°C
Temperature Coefficient of Expansion (TCE):	2.5 ppm/°C
Melting Point	1414 °C 2577 °F