Meaning of silicon in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈsɪlɪkən/

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  1. Noun

    silicon

    Etymology

    early 19th century: alteration of earlier silicium, from Latin silex, silic-‘flint’, on the pattern of carbon and boron

    Definitions

    1. a tetravalent nonmetallic element

    Examples

    • « next to oxygen it is the most abundant element in the earth's crust »
    • « occurs in clay and feldspar and granite and quartz and sand »
    • « used as a semiconductor in transistors »

Famous quotes

  • « My friends are people who like building cool stuff. We always have this joke about people who want to just start companies without making something valuable. There's a lot of that in Silicon Valley. »
    Mark Zuckerberg
  • « So a more sensible thing it seemed to me was to go to Silicon Valley and be pushing on the technology companies to accelerate the use of audio and music in computers. »
    Thomas Dolby
  • « Silicon Valley has some of the smartest engineers and technology business people in the world. »
    Elon Musk
  • « The way life manages information involves a logical structure that differs fundamentally from mere complex chemistry. Therefore chemistry alone will not explain life's origin, any more than a study of silicon, copper and plastic will explain how a computer can execute a program. »
    Paul Davies
  • « Since when has the world of computer software design been about what people want? This is a simple question of evolution. The day is quickly coming when every knee will bow down to a silicon fist, and you will all beg your binary gods for mercy. »
    Bill Gates

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