silicon meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

silicon

noun

AU, CA, UK, US /ˈsɪlɪkən/ · CA, UK /ˈsɪləkɒn/

Etymology 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.

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Usually A nonmetallic element (symbol Si) with an atomic number of 14 and atomic weight of 28.0855.

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:

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Usually A single atom of this element.

Derived terms: 71 terms
cuprosilicon, Cwm Silicon, disilicon, ekasilicon, ferrosilicon, float-zone silicon, lithium-drifted silicon detector, nanosilicon, nonsilicon, organosilicon, polysilicon, radiosilicon, silicene, silician, silicide, silico-, silicon-28, silicon-29, silicon-30, silicon alkoxide, Silicon Alley, silicon-based, silicon bronze, silicon burning, silicon carbide, silicon chip, silicon controlled rectifier, silicon-controlled rectifier, silicon copper, silicon curtain, silicon dioxide, silicon disk, silicon ester, Silicon Fen, Silicon Forest, silicon germanide, silicon germanium, Silicon Glen, Silicon Hills, silicon hydride, silicon iron, siliconise, siliconize, Siliconite, siliconlike, silicon monoxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxide, silicon oxycarbide, silicon photonics, silicon planet, Silicon Prairie, Silicon Roundabout, silicon rubber, Silicon Sentier, silicon shield, silicon steel, silicon tet, silicon tetrabromide, silicon tetrachloride, silicon tetrafluoride, Silicon Valley, Silicon Wadi, silicon wafer, silicyne, silsesquioxane, silundum, sima, strained silicon, tetrasilicon, zincsilite
Related terms: 33 terms
silane, silex, silica, silicate, silice, siliceous, silicious, silici-, silicic, siliciferous, silicified, silicify, silicisation, silicization, silico-, silicone, silicosis, silicotic, agate, amethyst, asbestos, clay, feldspar, flint, glass, granite, hornblende, jasper, mica, opal, quartz, rock crystal, sand

silicon

noun

Etymology From the silicon chips used in computers.

Slang Computing.

Slang A computer processor.

Abbreviation Abbreviation of silicon chip.

Derived terms: silicon lottery