Johannes van Helmont (1644): Opuscula medica inaudita, published by Jost Kalckhoven (Jodocum Kalcoven) Cologne, Germany. In Part I: De Lithiasi, page 53, van Helmont mentions that alkalis dissolve silicates: "Porro lapides, gemmae, arenae, marmora, silices, &c. adjuncto alcali, vitrificantur: sin autem plure alcali coquantur, resolvuntur in humido quidem: ac resoluta, facili negotio acidorum spirituum, separantur ab alcali, pondere pristini pulveris lapidum." (Furthermore, stone, gems, sand, marble, silica, etc., become glassy by the addition of alkali: but if roasted with more alkali, they are dissolved in moisture: and the former weight of the stone powder is separated from the alkali and released by simply adding acid.)
Emile Kopp (1857): "Sur la préparation et les propriétés du verre soluble ou des silicates de potasse et de soude; analyse de tous les travaux publiés jusqu'a ce jour sur ce sujet" (On the preparation and properties of soluble glass or the silicates of potash and soda; analysis of all works published until today on this subject). Le Moniteur scientifique, volume 1, 337–349, pages 366–391.
Gerard Lagaly, Werner Tufar, A. Minihan, A. Lovell "Silicates" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, 2005. எஆசு:10.1002/14356007.a23_661
