Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element on the Earth’s surface (after oxygen), which surrounds us everywhere in the form of sand, building bricks, glass, and so on. About 27% of the earth’s crust is silicon. It has earned special attention from agriculture in recent years due to its beneficial effects on certain crops. Silicon fertilization is currently being considered as an alternative to combat biotic and abiotic stress in crops around the world.
In nature, it usually does not occur in its pure form, but associated with an oxygen molecule in the form of silicon dioxide – silica. Quartz, the main constituent of sand, is a non-crystallized silica. Silicon is a metalloid, an element that lies between a metal and a non-metal, having the properties of both. It is a semiconductor, which means silicon conducts electricity. However, unlike typical metal, .
This element was first identified by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius in 1824, who, according to the chemical heritage, also discovered cerium, selenium and thorium. as a semiconductor, it is used to make transistors, which are the basis of electronics, from radios to the iPhone. Silicon is used in one way or another in solar cells and computer chips. According to the National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore, to turn silicon into a transistor, its crystalline form is “diluted” with a small amount of other elements such as boron or phosphorus. These trace elements bond with silicon atoms, releasing electrons to move throughout the material.
Modern silicon research seems like science fiction: in 2006, scientists announced the creation of a computer chip that combines silicon components with brain cells. Thus, electrical signals from brain cells can be transmitted to an electronic silicon chip, and vice versa. The goal is to eventually create an electronic device for the treatment of neurological disorders.
Silicon is also poised to create an ultra-thin laser, the so-called nanoneedle, that can be used to transfer data faster and more efficiently than traditional optical cables.
The astronauts who landed on the moon in 1969 left behind a white bag that contained a silicon disk larger than a dollar coin. The disc contains 73 messages from different countries with wishes for good and peace.
Silicon is not the same as silicone. The latter is made of silicon with oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. This material perfectly tolerates high temperatures.
Silicone can be hazardous to health. Breathing in for a long period of time can cause a lung disease known as silicosis.
Do you like the characteristic transfusion of opal? This pattern is formed due to silicon. A gemstone is a form of silica bonded to water molecules.
Silicon Valley gets its name from silicon, which is used in computer chips. The name itself first appeared in 1971 in the Electronic News.
More than 90% of the earth’s crust consists of silicate-containing minerals and compounds.
Freshwater and oceanic diatoms absorb silicon from the water to build their cell walls.
Silicon is essential in steel production.
Silicon has a higher density when in liquid form than when in solid state.
Much of the world’s silicon production goes into making an alloy known as ferrosilicon, which contains iron.
Only a small number of bioorganisms on Earth have a need for silicon.
Silicon in some of them, which are not amenable to timely irrigation. In addition: Silicon-deficient rice and wheat have weaker stems that are easily destroyed by wind or rain. It has also been established that silicon increases the resistance of some plant species to fungal attack.