Silicon Meaning
/ˈsɪlɪkən/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA nonmetallic element (symbol Si) with an atomic number of 14 and atomic weight of 28.0855.
nounA single atom of this element.
Sentence Examples
Powders of aluminium, magnesium, silicon, etc. explode.
Silicon Valley is not my hometown.
Silicon Valley CEOs are a uniquely psychopathic and parasitic bunch.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Computer chips are made from ____, a substance that conducts electricity moderately.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tech industry relies heavily on ____ chips to power modern computers.
Word Origin & History
Coined by Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson as a modification of the earlier name silicium, from the stem of Latin silex (“flint, silica”) + -on from carbon.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The isolated disordered regions and the amorphous layer have widely different anneal behavior. In the case of germanium and silicon, the isolated disordered regions anneal at moderate temperatures of approximately 200° and 300° C, respectively. The amorphous layers also anneal in a characteristic fashion, but at appreciably higher temperatures, i.e., at approximately 600° C in silicon and 400° C in germanium."
— 1970, James W[alter] Mayer, Lennart Eriksson, John A[rthur] Davies, “General Features of Ion Implantation”, in Ion Implantation in Semiconductors: Silicon and Germanium, New York, N.Y.: Academic Press, →OCLC, page 5:
"His idea is to stand billions of ultrafine wire loops around the edge of a silicon chip — hence the name racetrack — and use electric current to slide infinitesimally small magnets up and down along each of the wires to be read and written as digital ones and zeros."
— 2007 September 11, John Markoff, “Redefining the Architecture of Memory”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 09 Nov 2020:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
Computer chips are made from ____, a substance that conducts electricity moderately.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tech industry relies heavily on ____ chips to power modern computers.