An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A widely found mineral of silicon dioxide SiO₂, which is used as an ore of → silicon. It is a hard, white, or colorless crystalline compound with a high melting point, occurring abundantly as quartz, sand, flint, rock crystal, etc.

From L. silic- stem of → silex "hard stone, flint, boulder."

A common rock-forming → mineral belonging to a group formed from → silicon and → oxygen combined with various elements and classified by their crystalline structures. SiO₄ in the shape of a tetrahedron is the main component of the group. It has been estimated that about 95% of the Earth's crust is made up of silicate minerals. A salt of → silicic acid.

From → silica + → -ate.

1) Containing → silicon.
2) Of or pertaining to → silica or acids derived from it.

From silic-, from → silic + → -ic.

A general name for a family of chemical compounds containing the element silicon attached to oxide and hydroxyl groups.

→ silicic; → acid.

A non-metallic chemical element; symbol Si. Atomic number 14; atomic weight 28.0855; melting point 1,410°C; boiling point 2,355°C; specific gravity 2.33 at 25°C. It occurs in a combined state in minerals and rocks and constituting more than one fourth of the earth's crust.

From silic(a), from L. silex (genitive silicis) "flint, pebble" + -on, as in carbon and boron.

Silisiom, from Fr. silicium, from silic(a), as above, + -ium as in magnesium, barium.

The → nucleosynthetic process taking place in the interior of → massive stars whereby → silicon is transmuted into iron, nickel, and neighboring nuclei collectively called the → iron peak elements.

→ silicon; → burning.