silicon

[ sil-i-kuhn, -kon ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. 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. : Si; : 28.086; : 14; : 2.4 at 20°C.

silicon

/ ˈsɪlɪkən /

noun

1. 1. 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
   2. modifier; sometimes capital denoting an area of a country that contains a density of high-technology industry

silicon

/ sĭl′ĭ-kŏn′ /

1. 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.
2. See Periodic Table

silicon

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of silicon¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of silicon¹

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

Example Sentences

The company first introduced its own silicon with the M1 chip included in November refreshes of the low-end 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini.

From Ars Technica

Storing all this data could quickly become impractical using conventional silicon technology, but DNA could hold the answer.

From Singularity Hub 

The next step is to put it all together… If we can combine all that, we’ll beat silicon.

From Singularity Hub 

In fact, the APCN material can boost the efficiency of a silicon solar cell by up to 24 percent, Empa’s scientists report.

From Science News For Students

The company is using a different hardware approach that replaces the specially designed, supercooled silicon chips favored by Google and IBM with laser-guided atoms in the machine’s guts.

From Fortune

A brilliant Silicon Valley entrepreneur may have found a way to get dark money out of politics without changing any laws.

From The Daily Beast

Greer is a young, entrepreneurial, poker-loving Texan who ended up in Silicon Valley.

From The Daily Beast

In Silicon Valley proper, that number increases to $108,603, marking a 7.2 percent year-over-year increase.

From The Daily Beast

Normally Democratic Silicon Valley opened up its wallets to the Republicans this time out.

From The Daily Beast

South of Silicon Valley, an entire town is being deformed, slowly, by plate tectonics.

From The Daily Beast

You do the same with an ordinary piece of silicon for comparison and then seal both tubes with an oxygen-gas torch.

From Project Gutenberg

You break the quartz tubes one at a time and attach each of the two pieces of silicon to a card with self-sticking tape.

From Project Gutenberg

He was still wearing the blue blazer and khakis he wore on the days that he was consulting in Silicon Valley.

From Project Gutenberg

Silicon steel and manganese steel are sometimes classed as alloy steels.

From Project Gutenberg

These powders may contain borax or salt, and to prevent a hard, brittle weld, graphite or ferro-silicon may be added.

From Project Gutenberg