Silicon - a ubiquitous part of modern life

Silicon is a blockbuster metalloid with many uses, from glass to computer chips & bathroom sealants, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 77 of Elemental.

Silicon underpins modern technology and has been a ubiquitous part of our lives since the 1950s, when the silicon chip was invented.

But although billions of silicon chips are produced each year, this only uses 5 percent of the world's silicon production. The rest is used in glass, concrete, brick and silicone polymers.

In nature the most abundant compounds of silicon are feldspars, which are aluminosilicate materials, and quartz or silica, better known as sand.

In episode 77 of Elemental, Professor Allan Blackman from the Auckland University of Technology, introduces us silicates, silicones, silicas and many other permutations and uses of silicon.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details