Original text - English - Silicon (IPA: /ˈsɪlikən/, Latin: silicium) is the...

Silicon (IPA: /ˈsɪlikən/, Latin: silicium) is the chemical element that has the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, silicon is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon. As the seventh or eighth most common element in the universe by mass, silicon occasionally occurs as the pure free element in nature, but is more widely distributed in dusts, planetoids and planets as various forms of silicon dioxide or silicate.