different between silica vs silicon

English

Etymology

Origin: 1585–95; in Latin silex (“hard stone, flint”). Subsequently, silicon was identified by the chemist Antoine Lavoisier in 1787 as a component element of the silex or silicis. Compare silicate.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?s?l.?.k?/

Noun

silica (countable and uncountable, plural silicas)

1. Silicon dioxide.
2. Any of the silica group of the silicate minerals.
   • 1993, Historic American Building Survey, Town of Clayburg: Refractories Company Town, National Park Service, 2:

     Its Blair County property was sited at the foot of ganister-covered Dunnings Mountain to compete with the Mount Union plants making silica bricks for the steel industry.

Synonyms

• E551 when used as an anti-caking agent

Derived terms

Related terms

• silex
• silicon

Translations

See also

• quartz
• sand

References

Anagrams

• Cialis, Liasic, salici, sialic

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: s?l'?k?n, IPA^(key): /?s?l?k?n/; enPR: s?l'?k?n, IPA^(key): /?s?l?k?n/

Etymology 1

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.

Noun

silicon (usually uncountable, plural silicons)

2. (chemistry, uncountable) A nonmetallic element (symbol Si) with an atomic number of 14 and atomic weight of 28.0855.

   Synonyms: (obsolete) silicium, (obsolete) silicum

3. (chemistry, countable) A single atom of this element.

Usage notes

Do not confuse silicon with silicone.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• agate
• amethyst
• asbestos
• clay
• feldspar
• flint
• glass
• granite
• hornblende
• jasper
• mica
• opal
• quartz
• rock crystal
• sand

Etymology 2

From the silicon chips used in computers

Noun

silicon (uncountable)

1. (slang) computing
2. (slang) computer processor
3. Abbreviation of silicon chip.

Further reading

• David Barthelmy (1997–2021) , “Silicon”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database
• “silicon”, in Mindat.org?^[1], Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2021.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French silicone.

Noun

silicon m (plural siliconi)

1. (chemistry) silicone

Declension

Noun

silicon n (plural silicoane)

1. (informal, chiefly in the plural) breast implant

Declension

Related terms

• siliciu