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EmuWizard
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what lead to the discovery of silicon
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how is it extracted commercially & how can it be done at home aswell?
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how is it extracted commercially & how can it be done at home aswell?
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Borek said:I am not sure if I understand the first question, as the only answer I am aware of is "curiosity". What I mean is that chemists were trying at the time to decompose every substance into what they called "simple substances" - what we today know as elements (note: don't treat nomenclature I am using too seriously, as I am translating from Polish). Berzelius was the first one to succeed in preparing pure silicon, but I don't remember reading about any special events that lead to that discovery.
Small scale & home experiment looks unlikely to me, you need high temperatures for SiO2 reduction. Does it have to be production of Si, or something else where Si compounds are involved will do as well?
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster and a tetravalent metalloid in the carbon group.
Silicon was first isolated and identified by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1823. He obtained silicon by heating potassium fluorosilicate with metallic potassium in an iron tube.
Silicon is extracted commercially through a process called carbothermic reduction, which involves heating silica (SiO2) with carbon (C) to produce silicon (Si) and carbon monoxide (CO).
Silicon is a key component in the production of semiconductors, which are used in electronic devices such as computers and smartphones. It is also used in the production of solar cells, glass, and ceramics.
No, silicon is not a renewable resource. It is abundant in the Earth's crust, but it must be extracted and processed to be used commercially. However, efforts are being made to develop more sustainable methods for producing silicon, such as recycling and using renewable energy sources in the extraction process.