Silicon (symbol Si) is a chemical element, a metalloid with atomic number 14 on the periodic table.

Characteristics and history[]

Silicon has an atomic mass of 28.086. This element was discovered by Humans for the first time in Earth's European continent in the year 1823, in Sweden. (ST reference: Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual)

When heated, silicon can form glass. (ST reference: Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual; TOS novel: The Pandora Principle)

Silicon-based lifeforms were considered a fantasy by the Federation until first contact with the silicon-based Horta of Janus VI in 2267. (TOS episode & Star Trek 4 novelization: The Devil in the Dark)

In 2370, when Julian Bashir was attempting to locate a Horta in the mines of Davonia, his tricorder had trouble singling it out as the mines had been drilled with high-powered phasers causing the walls to turn into glass, making the silicon lifeform difficult to detect amongst all the other silicon in the area. (DS9 novel: Devil in the Sky)

See also[]

• bioactive silicon
• disilicon polymer
• polysilicate verterium
• silica
• silicate
• silicon-based liquid
• silicon-based parasite
• silicon nodule

Appendices[]

References[]

• TNG episodes: "Home Soil", "Deja Q", "Time's Arrow"
• TOS episode & Star Trek 4 novelization: The Devil in the Dark
• ST references: Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual, Spaceflight Chronology, Star Charts, The Worlds of the Federation, The Definitive Star Trek Trivia Book
• TOS novels: The Enterprise Mutiny, The Pandora Principle
• DS9 novel: Devil in the Sky
• ENT episodes: "Observer Effect", "The Disease"
• TOS episodes: "The Alternative Factor", "The Savage Curtain"
• TOS - Rihannsu novel: My Enemy, My Ally
• ST - Destiny novel: Mere Mortals
• TAS - Log Eight novella: The Eye of the Beholder
• CoE eBook: Ghost
• Decipher RPG module: Worlds
• DS9 - Requiem comic: ^{[citation needed]}

External links[]

• Silicon article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
• Silicon article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
• Silicon article at Tardis Data Core, the Doctor Who wiki