Silicon is a chemical element (Si), which can be found on the Periodic Table. Commonly used in making computer chips, the element’s name made sense for the basin below San Francisco, as it originally ...

The chemistry lexicon is full of words that are infuriatingly similar to each other despite having completely different meanings. A perfect example of this is the difference between silicon and ...

Which is your favourite chemical element? To mark the International Year of the Periodic Table, our science journalists will be making the case for their pick from the 118 known elements. In this ...

Recent research showed that, although long neglected by ecologists, silicon is in fact beneficial for the growth of many plants, including major crops such as rice, wheat and barley. Researchers have ...

Silicon defines the history of civilization. Humanity's earliest surviving records are cast in it, and your most recent TikToks are protected by it. It's present amid every major technological leap, ...

In power electronics, semiconductors are based on the element silicon -- but the energy efficiency of silicon carbide would be much higher. Physicists explain what exactly is preventing the use of ...

Already responsible for the IT revolution, could silicon be about to pull off an energy revolution too? We hear from pioneer John Schaeffer about solar power's hippy roots, and Richard Swanson of Sun ...