Carbon's unique chemical properties allow it to be an essential building block for life on Earth and many other molecules we rely on for day-to-day life—but what about carbon's neighbor? Silicon is ...

This post is the first in a three-part series on how living creatures use the elements of the periodic table. Learn more about the elements on NOVA's two-hour special, "Hunting The Elements." When you ...

Silicon is a chemical element (Si), which can be found on the Periodic Table. Commonly used in making computer chips, the element’s name made sense for the basin below San Francisco, as it originally ...

Already responsible for the IT revolution, could silicon be about to pull off an energy revolution too? We hear from pioneer John Schaeffer about solar power's hippy roots, and Richard Swanson of Sun ...

Despite silicon being the world’s second most abundant element, making up 25% of the earth’s crust, crops can still benefit from its application, which has a vital role in plant development by ...