Silica vs. Silicon — What's the Difference?

Often found as a natural crystal.

A chemical element with symbol Si.

A compound of silicon and oxygen.

Extracted from silica.

Commonly found in quartz.

Found in various states.

Used in glass-making.

Used in semiconductors.

Used as an anti-caking agent in food.

Can form alloys and compounds.

A white or colorless crystalline compound, SiO2, which in the form of quartz and certain other minerals is a chief component of the earth's crust. Silica sand is used in making a wide variety of materials, such as glass and concrete.

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 lustre, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor.

Silicon dioxide.

A nonmetallic element occurring extensively in the earth's crust in silica and silicates, having both a brown amorphous and a gray lustrous crystalline allotrope, and used doped or in combination with other materials in glass, semiconducting devices, concrete, brick, refractories, pottery, and silicones. Atomic number 14; atomic weight 28.086; melting point 1,414°C; boiling point 3,265°C; specific gravity 2.33 (25°C); valence 2, 4. See Periodic Table.

Any of the silica group of the silicate minerals.

A nonmetallic element (symbol Si) with an atomic number of 14 and atomic weight of 28.0855.

Silicon dioxide, SiO . It constitutes ordinary quartz (also opal and tridymite), and is artifically prepared as a very fine, white, tasteless, inodorous powder.

A single atom of this element.

A white or colorless vitreous insoluble solid (SiO2); various forms occur widely in the earth's crust as quartz or cristobalite or tridymite or lechartelierite

(slang) computing

(slang) computer processor

Abbreviation of silicon chip

A nonmetalic element analogous to carbon. It always occurs combined in nature, and is artificially obtained in the free state, usually as a dark brown amorphous powder, or as a dark crystalline substance with a meetallic luster. Its oxide is silica, or common quartz, and in this form, or as silicates, it is, next to oxygen, the most abundant element of the earth's crust. Silicon is characteristically the element of the mineral kingdom, as carbon is of the organic world. Symbol Si. Atomic weight 28. Called also silicium.

A tetravalent nonmetallic element; 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

Silica is a compound made of silicon and oxygen, commonly found in sand and quartz.

Silica is used in glass-making, concrete production, and food processing.

Silicon is a chemical element used primarily in semiconductors and computer chips.

Yes, silica is naturally occurring and is often found in various types of rocks.

Silicon is extracted from silica and is often found in electronics and technology.

No, silica is an insulator and does not conduct electricity.

While silicon is an element, it is often processed for industrial uses.

Silica is commonly found in sand, quartz, and various rocks.

Silica is generally considered to be inert and less reactive.

Silicon can be highly reactive, especially when finely divided.

Silicon is used in electronics, semiconductors, and solar cells.

Elemental silicon is generally considered safe, but certain compounds can be toxic.

No, silica is a compound of silicon and oxygen, whereas silicon is a chemical element.

Yes, especially when doped with other elements, silicon can conduct electricity.

Silica can be harmful when inhaled as fine particles, leading to conditions like silicosis.