Download Silicon: Si

By
Sonal Somaiya
And
Kamakshi Mamtani
Silicon
• 2nd most common element in the world
• Used in computer chips
The Periodic Table
Family: Metalloid
Silicon
The Discovery
In 1809 Gay-Lussac and Thenard made silicon by passing silicon
fluoride over heated potassium. At the time, they scientists did
not know that it was an element. Silicon the element was
discovered by Jons Jacob Berzelius who lived in Sweden in 1824.
He isolated the substance and realized that it could not be
broken down anymore. That meant that it was an element.
Characteristic Properties
Symbol
Atomic Number
Atomic Mass
Melting Point
Boiling Point
Classification/ Family
Density
Standard State
# of electrons in outer shell
Si
14
20.855
1410o Celsius
2355o Celsius
Metalloids
2.329 g/cm3
Solid
Four (4)
Properties
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hard
Gray
Brittle
Diamond shaped structure
Capable of forming long chain molecules
Metabolism and replication are not messy
Semiconductor so it can be a n insulator and a conductor
Has a cubic crystal structure
Other Uses
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Combine with boron, gallium, phosphorus, arsenic, etc for use in
transistors, solar cells, rectifier, and other electronic solid devices
Used to make concrete, bricks
Used in medicine for silicone implants
Silica as sand is a principal ingredient in grass
Silicone – important products of silicon, prepared by hydrolsing a silicon
organic chloride
Diatoms, some protozoa, some sponges, and some plants use SIO2 as
structural matter. Elemental silicon has been used in lasers to produce
coherent light at 456nm.
In the form of silicon dioxide, silicon is used in optical fiber An optical
fiber is a glass thread that conducts light
Silicon is also used to make glass when heated to about 1600o, it melts
and makes silicon fuse added to other metals to make glass
Helpful Properties in Computer Chips
They make it useful in computer chips because silicon can be made to
change it’s conductivity over very short distances. In turn, this makes
it possible for the circuit components to be microscopically small..
Because of silicon’s semi conductivity, it does not conduct electricity
as efficiently as conductors
Elements in Computer Chips
Boron is used in computer chips because it is a semiconductor.
Semiconductors can either be a conductor or an insulator.
Aluminum and copper are used in computer chips because they are
conductors. They conduct electricity. Gold is only used to connect
the actual chip to the package. Gold is also a semiconductor
meaning that it can be a conductor or an insulator. Silicon crystals
are also used. They are made from refined quartz crystals.
Bibliography
-www.mccsc.edu/unrapp/elementquest/student/silicon/history.html
- www.chemicalelements.com
- www.enviromentalchemistry.com
-www.intel.com/education/makingchips/preparation.htm
-www.chemistry.about.com/library/blsi.html
-www.ajkids.com/main/followup.asp?…
-Jack Challoner, The Visual Dictionary of Chemistry, DK Publishing Inc.,
New York City, 1996
-P.W Atkins, The Periodic Kingdom, Basic Books, New York, 1995
- Brian Kapp, Elements Silicon, Atlantic Europe Publishing Co. Ltd.
Danbury Connecticut ,1996
-www.ch.com.ac.uk/SGTL/elements/
-www.tcaep.co.uk/science/periodic/e1014.htm
-www.webelements.com
-www.fic.uc.pt/st2.5/scenes-e/elem/e1014.html
-www. Infoplease.com/periodictable.php?group=J
THE END