Silicon (Si) is a metalloid, element number 14 on the periodic table. Like carbon, silicon has four bonding sites, but silicon is more than twice as heavy as carbon. The high melting point of ...

Silicon is, after oxygen, the most abundant element of the Earth's crust. But although about 75% of the Earth is made from silica — or silicon dioxide (SiO 2), the main constituent of silicate ...

One of the themes I remember from these stories was the idea that alien life forms, often based around the element silicon, abounded elsewhere in the universe. Why silicon? Well, it is often said that ...