Silicon's base component is sand. Hourglasses and other devices utilizing sand were clocks in Ancient Egypt and in the Middle Ages. The British Navy used hourglasses as late as 1839 for approximate timekeeping. Standard equipment included an hourglass, a half-hour glass, and an eight minute glass. In some deserts, sand dunes make mysterious music.
Studies show that sand grains in musical dunes are especially smooth.
As sand slides down the dune, the motion makes low booming sounds similar to the sounds of drums and bass fiddles. Sand on the beaches of Florida's Panhandle region sparkles white because it is nearly pure quartz. In 1876, Pennsylvania Avenue was one of the nation's first asphalt paved roads. In 1498, on his third voyage exploring the New World, Columbus wrote in the ship's log about stopping in Trinidad and using their natural asphalt reserve to waterproof and caulk his ships. Stone The Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State required 17 million tons of aggregate in its construction.