Silicon is an element that looks like metal but does not do everything that a metal does. Therefore, it is called a ‘metalloid’. These chemical elements have some characteristics of metals and like non-metals, and silicon is the most common of them.

It is element number 14 on the periodic table and symbolized as Si, and is used in various forms for many things in our daily lives.

Silicon was discovered by a Swedish chemist Jons Berzelius in 1824 and is found in almost every electrical device built.

Silicon is found on most places on Earth, like in the sand on the beach. It makes up about 26% of Earth’s crust and is the 8th most common element on earth.

It is the second most common element in Earth’s crust, and is found in the sun and the stars.

Sand is chemically called silicon dioxide, or silica. Glass is made by heating sand.

Silicon is even found in plants and animals and plants extract silicon from water to help them build their cell walls.

When plants are burned, what remains is silica, which is also found in human skeletons, and this element is also found as a common ingredient in steel.

In most electronic and solar devices, silicon is mixed with other chemicals like gallium, arsenic and boron.

Silicon is also found in liquid and solid forms, when used as ingredients for glues, sealants (used to seal cracks in walls), and insulators (helps conduct electricity).

A compound of silicon called sodium silicate, called water glass, is used to produce soaps, glues, and used to preserve eggs.

Silicon is also used for various medical procedures, and even in explosives.

Silicon is prepared by heating silica (sand) with carbon in an electric oven. Special carbon electrodes do the heating.

Other ways of preparing silicon use a variety of chemical methods and mixtures. Some of them are single crystal silicon, amorphous silicon, and hyperpure silicon.