| The most significant user is the glass industry, which uses sodium carbonate to decompose silicates for glass making. |
| Moving beyond the Earth to the other terrestrial planets, we find that the rocks there are also dominantly silicates. |
| Pulmonary disease due to talc, a group of hydrous magnesium silicates, is almost exclusively encountered after occupational exposure. |
| Soluble silicates can be obtained by heating alkali metal carbonates and silica. |
| The strongest and most stable molecular structure is the three-dimensional tetrahedron, the configuration achieved with silicates. |
| The other two silicates are possibly an amphibole and a member of the smectite group. |
