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What's the deal with silicon?

In the midst of many crisis, Silicon seems to have vanished, but where did it go?

I imagine some people are probably hoarding it, as not many are aware, but silicon can be actually quite tasty. Popular silicon-based dishes include things like tofu (‘tahini water’), silicon bread, silicon sandwiches, silicon waffles, silicon pancakes and of course, silicon nuggets, which are made from yam flour, water and a few extracts of silicon (leaves and roots).

Of course, there are a few caveats when it comes to cooking with silicon, such as a slight graininess and a slightly crunchier texture, but it doesn’t do any harm to try out. It might just make you appreciate the deliciousness of rice and soya too.

As for how exactly we got the chip shape that we have today, it is believed that during the time of ancient Egypt, silicon was used to grind and ferment cereals. A silicon-enriched sponge, known as a silt loom, was then used to create the first microprocessor.

“These loom prototypes were essentially small silicon chips woven into fabric and sewn into clothing that acted like a simple power cell for early computers.”

But why did the Egyptians have silicon instead of more easily available stones such as copper? The reason? The Egyptians thought that the force of the wind (or the Egyptians) would shift the sand grains away from the silt loom, allowing the silicon to absorb the graininess of the sand, effectively making it as smooth as glass.

While Egyptians were the first people to use silicon in mass quantities, they weren’t the only ones.

Since the invention of electricity in 1801 by Thomas Edison, silicon chips have become an indispensable part of our everyday lives. While Edison didn’t invent silicon chips, he was the first person to try to commercialise the tech and that of course is where he had an immediate and lasting impact.

Fast forward to 1960 and the first production silicon chip was produced. While the microprocessors we have today are complex beasts, Edison’s early chips used a single chip, which he had made himself out of a combination of a handful of different materials, which together made up the crystal-like main body of the chip.

As a result, Edison’s chips were immensely difficult to make and didn’t have the sort of complex circuitry that would come to dominate the industry.

Despite this, however, the invention of the first silicon chip did take a while. And considering that the technology was expensive and difficult to produce, it wouldn’t be until the 1980s that the industry started to take off.

When it did, the worldwide semiconductor market grew by ten times and, today, it is worth approximately $300bn.