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silicon |
5 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Silicon \Sil"i*con\, n. [See {Silica}.] (Chem.) A nonmetalic element analogous to carbon. It always occurs combined in nature, and is artificially obtained in the free state, usually as a dark brown amorphous powder, or as a dark crystalline substance with a meetallic luster. Its oxide is silica, or common quartz, and in this form or as silicates, it is next to oxygen, the most abundant element of the earth's crust. Silicon is characteristically the element of the mineral kingdom, as carbon is of the organic world. Symbol Si Atomic weight 28. Called also {silicium}. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: silicon n : a tetravalent nonmetallic element; next to oxygen it is the most abundant element in the earth's crust; occurs in clay and feldspar and granite and quartz and sand; used as a semiconductor in transistors [syn: {Si}, {atomic number 14}] From Jargon File (4.2.3, 23 NOV 2000) [jargon]: silicon n. Hardware, esp. ICs or microprocessor-based computer systems (compare {iron}). Contrasted with software. See also {sandbender}. From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]: silicon 1.The material used as the base (or "substrate") for most {integrated circuit}s. 2. {Hardware}, especially {integrated circuit}s or {microprocessor}-based computer systems (compare {iron}). Contrast: {software}. See also {sandbender}. [{Jargon File}] (1996-05-28) From Elements database 20001107 [elements]: silicon Symbol: Si Atomic number: 14 Atomic weight: 28.086 Metalloid element belonging to group 14 of the periodic table. It is the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust, making up 25.7% of it by weight. Chemically less reactive than carbon. First identified by Lavoisier in 1787 and first isolated in 1823 by Berzelius.
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