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Background Info
Basic Properties - A table of physical properties of silicon is shown here
History of Silicon - A brief history of silicon. Outlines, where silicon appeared throughout the history books.
Real Chemistry
Where does silicon come from? Out lines the process of how we obtain pure silicon from it natural ore.
Silicon, Silicone Silica or Silicate?Easily confused? then maybe this will clarify a few things
A Little Interesting
Interesting Facts Facts about silicon can be found here. Some interesting, some funny and some just plain absurd.
Usefull Links
Webelements This is the home page of chemistry's periodic table of the elements on the World-Wide Web
Chemdex The directory of chemistry on the world wide web since 1993. Contains thousands of links to chemistry related web sites.
RSC - Royal Society of Chemistry "The largest organization in europe for advancing the chemical science"
A Brief History of Silicon
- Elemental silicon was discovered in 1823 by a Swedish chemist called Jöns Jacob Berzelius. He discovered silicon by placing silicon tetrafluoride in the presence of warm potassium. It is however believed that Gay-Lussac and Thenard, in 1809, had previously tried to obtain the amorphous form of silicon, using the same method. Berzelius then precededed to prepare silicon from the reaction of potassium fluorsilicates with potassium.
- Deville was the first person to prepare silicon in its crysalline form in 1854. He did this through the electrolysis of impure sodium-aluminum chloride with around 10% of silicon.
- In 1907, a gentleman named Potter was studying the interaction of silicon dioxide with carbon. This paved the way for the currently used process of obtaining elemental silicon from silicon dioxide, in the presence of carbon.
April 29, 2004 19:59