Is silicon an element?

Silicon is the 14th element on the periodic table. It has an atomic weight of 28.0855 and has the symbol Si. Silicon appears as a brown powder in its amorphous state and in a gray metallic crystalline form.

The name silicon comes from the Latin terms "silex" and "silicis," meaning flint. Sir Humphrey Davy had proposed this name in 1808, thinking that the element was a metal.

Silicon is an abundant element, the eighth most common throughout the universe. The Earth's crust is comprised of 90 percent silicon-based compound minerals, such as silicon dioxide, making the element the second most common.