Silicon is a semiconductor which means it’s a “substance whose electrical conductivity is intermediate between that of a metal and an insulator; it increases with temperature and in the presence of impurities.” The conductivity of silicon can be controlled by adding small amounts of impurities, called dopants. This ability to control the electrical properties of silicon have the development of transistors and integrated circuits used in the electronic industry.
“Silicon is prepared as a brown amorphous powder or as a gray-black crystals.” It is obtained by heating silica in a electric furnace.
Silicon is used in the manufacturing of many things such as glass, enamels, cement, porcelain and computer chips. It is a nonmetallic chemical element in the carbon family of elements. Silicon has an atomic symbol of Si and is the second most abundant element on the earth. The first being oxygen. The atomic number is 14. Yet, silicon does not occur uncombined in nature. Silicon usually combines with oxygen and forms sand or rocks. Silicon constitutes about 28 percent of the earth’s crust. Compounds of silicon also occur in the atmosphere, natural waters, many plants and in the bodies of some animals.
Computer chips which are formed from a small piece of semi-conducting material on which a circuit is placed. Chips come in a variety of packages. The three most common are DIP’s, PGA’s and SIP’s.
Since the technology world has been the fastest growing industry today. Electronic companies have been developing new ways to make peoples lives easier. If it was not for silicon many of the things that make life “easier” would not be around. Such as computers or doctoral tools. If it was not for silicon doctors would not be able to x-ray people or use many instruments that they do to this day.
The Term Paper on Threats to Elements of Computer Security
Running Head: THREATS TO ELEMENTS OF COMPUTER SECURITY Threats To Elements Of Computer Security: Ways Employee Use of Emails May Breach Confidentiality, Integrity And Availability of Information. Gertrude Nyandat Grantham University Abstract Email has indeed become the primary communications medium for most organizations, While email is critical to the operation of almost all organizations, it is ...
Without silicon many of our everyday things would not be around which makes it a very important element.
Bibliography
1) “Silicon” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://Encarta.Msn.com 1997-2000, Microsoft corporation.
2) Http://et.nmsu.edu/ETCLASSES/vlsi/files/MANUF.HTM
3) http://www.britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm
4) http://www.llnl.gov/str/Lee.html
