Specific weight of silicon, properties, uses and calculation table

Silicon is a chemical element and one of the most abundant components of the Earth’s crust. In nature it is usually not found in free form, but occurs in silicon dioxide, quartz, sand and various silicate minerals.

Technical silicon is produced mainly by reducing silica with carbon in electric furnaces. Purer forms of silicon are used in electronics, solar energy, metallurgy and the chemical industry.

Where silicon occurs and how it is produced

Free silicon is almost never found in nature because it is usually bound in minerals. The main natural forms are quartz, sand, silica, feldspars, micas and other silicates. That is why silicon is one of the basic elements of mineral raw materials, even though metallic silicon is obtained by industrial processing.

In laboratory conditions, silicon can be produced by reducing silicon compounds with active metals such as magnesium or aluminium. Industrial metallurgical silicon is produced in electric furnaces by reducing silicon dioxide with carbon. Electronics and solar cells then require additional purification to high-purity polycrystalline or monocrystalline silicon.

Table of silicon specific weight

Silicon is a solid crystalline substance, so its exact density is determined from reference data or laboratory measurements. For calculations, a value of about 2.33 g/cm³ is usually used. This means that 1 m³ of silicon weighs approximately 2330 kg.

Specific weight and weight of 1 m³ of silicon

Properties of silicon

Silicon is a hard and brittle dark-gray substance with a metallic luster. Crystalline silicon has a diamond-like lattice and belongs to semiconductor materials.

Under normal conditions silicon is fairly stable, but when heated it reacts with oxygen to form silicon dioxide. At high temperatures it also reacts with a number of metals and nonmetals, forming silicides and other compounds.

Due to its combination of chemical resistance, semiconductor properties and ability to form strong compounds, silicon is widely used in industry. Main applications include:

• metallurgy, where silicon is used as a deoxidizer, alloying additive and component of ferroalloys;
• production of technical and polycrystalline silicon;
• manufacture of semiconductor elements, microchips and solar cells;
• production of silanes, silicones and other organosilicon materials;
• manufacture of glass, ceramics, refractory materials and special alloys;
• use in plastics and coatings as a functional additive.