Silicon dioxide occurs naturally as sand or rock and when melted, the resulting product is called Fused Quartz. If the silicon dioxide is synthetically derived, the material is often called Fused Silica. Fused Quartz is very pure, has a high chemical resistance, good thermal shock resistance and is very strong in compression. The low thermal expansion coefficient makes it ideal for mirrors and optical flats. It is used for viewing windows, being transparent to wavelengths from around 0.2 to 3.5µm, insulators for electronic applications and for semi-conductor manufacturing.