Si

Silicon · element 14

Metalloid · Solid at room temperature

Silicon is a chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a tetravalent metalloid, more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table. Controversy about silicon's character dates to its discovery.

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Chunk of Ultrapure Silicon, 2 x 2 cm
Chunk of Ultrapure Silicon, 2 x 2 cm - Jurii, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, source: https://images-of-elements.com/silicon.php

Key facts

Atomic mass
28.085 u
how heavy one atom is
Phase (room temp.)
Solid
Density
2.329 g/cm³
how tightly packed it is
Melting point
1687 K (1414 °C)
when solid turns to liquid
Boiling point
3538 K (3265 °C)
when liquid turns to gas
Period
3
its row in the periodic table
Group
14
its column in the periodic table
Block
P-block
the neighbourhood it lives in
Electronegativity
1.9
how strongly it pulls electrons
Electron configuration
[Ne] 3s2 3p2
where its electrons live
Shells
2 · 8 · 4
electrons in each layer, inside to out
Discovered by
Jöns Jacob Berzelius
who found it
Named by
Thomas Thomson (chemist)
who gave it its name
Appearance
crystalline, reflective with bluish-tinged faces
what it looks like

Source: Wikipedia

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