It melts at 1410 C. The electronic configuration of the silicon atom is: (Ne)(3s) 2 (3p) 2, and the atomic radius is 0.132 nm. Silicon has the diamond cubic crystal structure with a lattice parameter ...

Silicon has had a long run as the king ... making it very attractive as a semiconductor material. In fact, only diamond and isotopically enriched cubic boron nitride have better thermal conductivity.