Silicon vs. Carbon — What's the Difference?

Integral to the development of solar panels due to its semiconductive properties.

Forms various allotropes including diamond, graphite, and fullerenes.

A hard and brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre.

Used in the manufacture of many synthetic materials like plastics and synthetic fibers.

A chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14.

Capable of forming double bonds and rings, leading to complex molecular structures.

Used in the production of glass and ceramics.

A nonmetallic element with the symbol C and atomic number 6.

Predominantly found in the Earth’s crust combined with oxygen as silica or silicates.

Essential in the chemistry of life, forming the backbone of organic molecules.

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.

Carbon (from Latin: carbo "coal") is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds.

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.

The chemical element of atomic number 6, a non-metal which has two main forms (diamond and graphite) and which also occurs in impure form in charcoal, soot, and coal.

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

Carbon dioxide or other gaseous carbon compounds released into the atmosphere, associated with climate change

A single atom of this element.

Symbol C An abundant nonmetallic element that occurs in many inorganic and in all organic compounds, exists freely in amorphous, graphite, and diamond forms and as a constituent of coal, limestone, and petroleum, and is capable of chemical self-bonding to form an enormous number of chemically, biologically, and commercially important molecules. Other significant allotropes include fullerenes and nanotubes. Atomic number 6; atomic weight 12.011; sublimation point 3,825°C; triple point 4,489°C; specific gravity of amorphous carbon 1.8 to 2.1, of diamond 3.15 to 3.53, of graphite 1.9 to 2.3; valence 2, 3, 4. See Periodic Table.

(slang) computing

A carbon-containing gas, notably carbon dioxide, or a collection of such gases, especially when considered as a contributor to the greenhouse effect

(slang) computer processor

A sheet of carbon paper.

Abbreviation of silicon chip

A carbon copy.

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.

Either of two rods through which current flows to form an arc, as in lighting or welding.

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

A carbonaceous electrode in an electric cell.

(uncountable) The chemical element (symbol C) with an atomic number of 6. It can be found in pure form for example as graphite, a black, shiny and very soft material, or diamond, a colourless, transparent, crystalline solid and the hardest known material. Category:en:Carbon

(countable) An atom of this element, in reference to a molecule containing it.

A sheet of carbon paper.

A carbon copy.

A fossil fuel that is made of impure carbon such as coal or charcoal.

Carbon dioxide, in the context of climate change. Category:en:Climate change

A carbon rod or pencil used in an arc lamp.

A plate or piece of carbon used as one of the elements of a voltaic battery.

(informal) carbon fiber.

To cause (someone) to receive a carbon copy of an email message.

An elementary substance, not metallic in its nature, which is present in all organic compounds. Atomic weight 11.97. Symbol C. it is combustible, and forms the base of lampblack and charcoal, and enters largely into mineral coals. In its pure crystallized state it constitutes the diamond, the hardest of known substances, occuring in monometric crystals like the octahedron, etc. Another modification is graphite, or blacklead, and in this it is soft, and occurs in hexagonal prisms or tables. When united with oxygen it forms carbon dioxide, commonly called carbonic acid, or carbonic oxide, according to the proportions of the oxygen; when united with hydrogen, it forms various compounds called hydrocarbons. Compare Diamond, and Graphite.

A carbon rod or pencil used in an arc lamp; also, a plate or piece of carbon used as one of the elements of a voltaic battery.

A sheet of carbon paper.

A carbon copy.

An abundant nonmetallic tetravalent element occurring in three allotropic forms: amorphous carbon and graphite and diamond; occurs in all organic compounds

A thin paper coated on one side with a dark waxy substance (often containing carbon); used to transfer characters from the original to an under sheet of paper

A copy made with carbon paper

Its semiconductor properties make it ideal for controlling electrical currents in devices.

Graphite, diamond, and organic compounds are common forms of carbon.

Silicon is used in electronics and solar cells, while carbon is critical for organic chemistry and materials like diamond and graphite.

Silicon is extracted from quartz and sand, while carbon is sourced from organic materials and minerals like coal.

Yes, synthetic silicon crystals are grown for use in electronics and optics.

No, silicon does not form the basis for life and complex biological molecules as carbon does.

Silicon is a semiconductor, useful in electronics, while carbon forms both conductive and insulative materials.

Silicon helps in creating green technologies like solar panels, whereas carbon's role in CO2 emissions is a major environmental concern.

Carbon emissions from fossil fuels contribute significantly to greenhouse gases and global warming.

Silicon is essential in some plants and diatoms but not nearly as universally important as carbon.

Diamonds are formed under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions naturally or synthetically, while silicon chips are manufactured in clean rooms from purified silicon.

Yes, silicon is being explored as a material for anodes in lithium-ion batteries due to its high capacity for lithium ions.

Silicon has decent thermal conductivity, but diamond is one of the best known thermal conductors.

Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring form of carbon.

Its ability to form stable, complex molecules with itself and other elements is vital for biological molecules.