The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule CMS-1629-F to update the Medicare hospice payment rates and wage index (Final FY 2016 Hospice Wage Index [ZIP, 269KB]) for fiscal year (FY) 2016. The final rule reflects the ongoing efforts of CMS to support beneficiary access to hospice care.
Silicon is a chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a tetravalent metalloid, more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table.Controversy about silicon's character dates to its discovery; it was first prepared and characterized in pure form in 1823.easured by mass, silicon makes up 27.7% of the Earth's crust and is the second most abundant element in the crust, with only oxygen having a greater abundance. Silicon is usually found in the form of complex silicate minerals, and less often as silicon dioxide (silica, a major component of common sand).
Chemical compounds and the reactions they undergo are my areas of knowledge and interest. Silicon dioxide is suitable for lining furnaces because of its very high melting point of 1,600 to 1,725 degrees celcius.It is so high because of the strong intermolecular forces between SiO2 molecules in the giant covalent structure comparable to that of diamond and graphite. large amount of energy is required to overcome these intermolecular forces and thus SiO2 has a high melting point. Note: no silicon-oxygen bonds are broken during melting, just intermolecular forces between SiO2 molecules.