silicon

[sil-i-kuh n, -kon] /ˈsɪl ɪ kən, -ˌkɒn/

noun, Chemistry

a nonmetallic element, having amorphous and crystalline forms, occurring in a combined state in minerals and rocks and constituting more than one fourth of the earth's crust: used in steelmaking, alloys, etc. Symbol: Si; atomic weight: 28.086; atomic number: 14; specific gravity: 2.4 at 20°C.

Origin

1817; silic(a) + -on, as in carbon and boron

Can be confused

silicon, silicone.

Examples from the web for silicon

The diminutive engines that power our global village start as pure silicon.
As computer circuitry advances, silicon chips decrease in size.
Two independent teams have developed silicon-based materials that can hide microscopic objects.
They used electrodes to shock silicon wafers with enough electricity to create a silicon vapor.
When light hits the panel, it is diffused to the edges, which are covered with silicon solar receptors.
silicon crystals, for example, are crucial to the world of computers.
Rocks with both oxygen and silicon are called silicates.
Artificial solar collectors made of silicon can do much better.
The material currently used, plain silicon, melts at less than one third that temperature.
Conveniently, silicon is not a bad material for making optical devices.

British Dictionary definitions for silicon

silicon

/ˈsɪlɪkən/

noun

a brittle metalloid element that exists in two allotropic forms; occurs principally in sand, quartz, granite, feldspar, and clay. It is usually a grey crystalline solid but is also found as a brown amorphous powder. It is used in transistors, rectifiers, solar cells, and alloys. Its compounds are widely used in glass manufacture, the building industry, and in the form of silicones. Symbol: Si; atomic no: 14; atomic wt: 28.0855; valency: 4; relative density: 2.33; melting pt: 1414°C; boiling pt: 3267°C
(modifier; sometimes capital) denoting an area of a country that contains a density of high-technology industry

Word Origin

C19: from silica, on the model of boron, carbon

Word Origin and History for silicon

nonmetallic element, 1817, coined by British chemist Thomas Thomson from silica (silicon dioxide), from which it was isolated. The name is patterned on carbon, etc. Silicon chip first attested 1965; Silicon Valley for the Santa Clara Valley south of San Francisco, U.S., first attested 1974, from the concentration of manufacturers of silicon chips used in computers, watches, etc.

silicon in Medicine

silicon sil·i·con (sĭl'ĭ-kən, -kŏn')
n.
Symbol Si
A nonmetallic element occurring extensively in the earth's crust in silica and silicates, having both an amorphous and a crystalline allotrope and used in glass and semiconducting devices. Atomic number 14; atomic weight 28.086; melting point 1,414°C; boiling point 3,265°C; specific gravity 2.33; valence 4.

silicon in Science

silicon

(sĭl'ĭ-kŏn')
Symbol Si
A metalloid element that occurs in both gray crystalline and brown noncrystalline forms. It is the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust and can be found only in silica and silicates. Silicon is used in glass, semiconductors, concrete, and ceramics. Atomic number 14; atomic weight 28.086; melting point 1,410°C; boiling point 2,355°C; specific gravity 2.33; valence 4. See Periodic Table.

silicon in Culture

silicon [(sil-i-kon, sil-i-kuhn)]

A chemical element from which semiconductors are made. It is also used in the manufacture of glass, concrete, brick, and pottery.

silicon in Technology

1. The material used as the base (or "substrate") for most integrated circuits.
2. Hardware, especially integrated circuits or microprocessor-based computer systems (compare iron).
Contrast: software. See also sandbender.
[Jargon File]
(1996-05-28)