Silicon is Element #14

1. Silicon's name in different languages are Silicium (French and Dutch), Kisel (Swedish), and Silicio (Italian and Spanish). Silicon got its name from the person who discovered it, Jöns Jacob Berzelius. He named silicon by its characteristics. Silicon is derived from the Latin word "silicis" which means "flint."
Silicon's symbol is Si:




2.This is what silicon look like as a pure element.

3. Silicon's average atomic mass is 28.97 ma/u. Naturally occurring isotopes are 28Si 29Si and 30Si. Their natural abundance’s are 92.2297 %, 4.6832%, and 3.0872% respectively. There are 14 neutrons and protons in 28Si.




4. Silicon has 14 electrons. There are three shells of electrons.



5. Silicon's atomic radius is 2352ˉ¹º meters.

To measure length. Obviously, an atom is too small for a ruler to measure.


6. Some of the properties of silicon in its pure element form are: melting point, 1414 °C; boiling point, 2900 °C; and density, 2330 kg mˉ³.

Thermometers to measure silicons melting and boiling points.



7. Silicon make up 25.7% of Earth’s crust. There is 700000 ppb by weight of silicon in the universe and 270000000 ppb (parts per billion) by weight of silicon in Earth’s crust. I, Michelle, weigh 127 pounds so there would be 14.99 grams of silicon in my body.




8. Some compounds that silicon forms are silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4), silicon oxide (SiO2), silicon sulphide (SiS2), and trisilicon tetrantitride (Si3N4).


Pictures:
silicon oxide, silicon tetrachloride, silicon sulphide, and trisilicon tetrantitride respectively


9. Jons Jacob Berzelius is generally considered the man who discovered silicon. Silicon bonds tightly with oxygen and he found out how to separate silicon from oxygen. Berzelius accomplished the task by mixing potassium metal with potassium silicon fluoride and the outcome was silicon! This was accomplished in 1823. It probably happened in Sweden because Berzelius is a Swedish scientist.



10. I, Silicon, perform a bunch of jobs in human society. A long time ago, ancient people used me to build sandstone temples and their clay huts. They didn’t know it but they were using compounds of me. Today, 2010, I upgraded to modern technology. People use me in electronic devices such as transistors and parts for computer circuits. I’m also in pretty much every type of glass you’ll find!




11. I, Silicon, am a very friendly element. I get along with many elements, especially the elements on the earth. I am quite fond of oxygen. Oxygen and I go way back, even till the late 1700s. Oxygen and I are equivalent to peanut butter and jelly in your world. We stick together through everything. So when the mad scientist, Sir Humphry Davy attempted to separate us by melting us and putting us through an electric current, we still stayed tight. Berzelius, the smart scientist who is credited with discovering me, eventually came up with a way to have my beloved oxygen leave me. He melted potassium metal and mixed it with another compound. Of course, oxygen couldn't resist the hot, shiny, element so oxygen left me. Then I was all alone and became an element no longer with oxygen.
Oxygen leaving its and silicons tight bonds.

12. Reference: http://www.webelements.com/