Silicon

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Small grains of silicon because it has been crushed.  This is not the silicon used in computers.
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Small grains of silicon because it has been crushed. This is not the silicon used in computers.
A thin cut of a large crystal of silicon that is very smooth.  This is the type of silicon can be used in computers because it is very pure.
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A thin cut of a large crystal of silicon that is very smooth. This is the type of silicon can be used in computers because it is very pure.

Silicon is element 14 on the periodic table. Its symbol is Si.

Silicon is a weird element. It looks like a metal, but does not do everything a metal does, like conduct electricity very easily. It is a metalloid. Silicon is extremely important because it is used in computers. It is the element that allows computers to do amazing things.

There is a lot of silicon on the Earth. Whenever you go to the beach, you see silicon in the form of sand. Sand is a compound of silicon known as silicon dioxide. When you heat sand (or silicon dioxide) hot enough, you can make glass. Glass is also made of silicon dioxide. The glass can have different colors by adding colored compounds. Silicon also makes up a lot of different rocks and minerals, and they are known as silicates.

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