silicon

CEFRB2

/ˈsɪlɪkən/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
noun
A chemical element used in computer chips and glass.
02
noun
Extra detail
A single atom of this element.

Examples

Powders of aluminium, magnesium, silicon, etc. explode.
Silicon Valley CEOs are a uniquely psychopathic and parasitic bunch.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses: 5
Parts of speech: 1
Citations: 2

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

A nonmetallic element (symbol Si) with an atomic number of 14 and atomic weight of 28.0855.
A computer processor.
Abbreviation of silicon chip.

More examples

In context

Silicon Valley is not my hometown.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Computer chips are made from blank, a substance that conducts electricity moderately.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Citations

The word in print, with each source given in full.

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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Origin

noun

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.

Deep Dive

noun

More examples

Quick test

Computer chips are made from blank—, a substance that conducts electricity moderately.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Computer chips are made from blank, a substance that conducts electricity moderately.