Facts About Silicon
Abundance: Silicon is second most abundant mineral found in earth crust. About 27.7% of Earth’s crust by mass consist of silicon
Semiconductor Properties: Silicon has excellent semiconductor properties hence, used in transistors, integrated circuits, and microprocessors.
Solar Energy: Silicon is one of the prime ingredients that are used in solar cell manufacturing, where the cells absorb light energy from the sun and turn it into electricity.
Glass Formation: The glass that you have probably been using contains silicon dioxide which is technically called as silica.
Crystal Structure: Silicon posses cubic diamond crystal structure.
Brittle Nature: Silicon is hard and brittle in nature
Catenation Property: Silicon posses catenation property i.e. silicon atoms can join each other forming chain. However these chains are not as long and stable as carbon chain.
Silicon
Silicon is second most abundant element found in earth’s crust. It constitutes about 27.7% of the total mass of earth’s crust. Silicon is represented by the symbol ‘Si’. Its atomic number is 14 and is found in group 14 and the third period of the periodic table. It is metalloid in nature and forms the backbone of the semiconductor industry. Due to its low reactivity, it is also used in body implants.
In this article, we will learn in detail about silicon, its symbol, properties, and applications.