n. Silicon dioxid (SiO2), or silicic anhydrid, a white or colorless substance, nearly insoluble in water and in all acids except hydrofluoric acid.n. Silica fused by the oxyhydrogen blowpipe may be worked in the plastic state, very much as glass is, and retains its amorphous character on cooling. Extremely delicate threads of this material may be drawn, and are used to suspend minute, readily mobile mirrors or other such parts of physical apparatus; they are also valuable as electrical insulators, being less affected by atmospheric moisture than threads of glass. Tubes, flasks, and beakers of moderate size have also been made from fused silica, and are useful on account of the hardness of the material, the high temperature it will bear without melting, the rapid changes of temperature it will sustain without cracking, and its superior resistance to most chemical reagents. Its behavior as respects dilatation by heat is also important. Berthelot has, however, recently shown that it is permeable by gases, particularly at high temperatures.n. Same as siliqua, 6.