Silicon
chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14
Silicon (, SILL-ih-kən) is a chemical element; it has symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a tetravalent non-metal (sometimes considered as a metalloid) and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic table: carbon is above it; and germanium, tin, lead, and flerovium are below it. It is relatively unreactive. Silicon is a significant element that is essential for several physiological and metabolic processes in plants. Silicon is widely used as a semiconductor material in various electrical devices such as transistors, solar cells, and integrated circuits. It dominates semiconductor applications due to its low cost, excellent electronic properties, and adaptable physical characteristics.
Because of its high chemical affinity for oxygen, it was not until 1823 that Jöns Jakob Berzelius was first able to prepare it and characterize it in pure form. Its oxides form a family of anions known as silicates. Its melting and boiling points of 1414 °C and 3265 °C, respectively, are the second highest among all the metalloids and nonmetals, being surpassed only by boron.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Silicon” as chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q670. The Library of Congress control number is sh85122512. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1823 and 1414.
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This entry incorporates text from “Silicon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.