History
The history of silicon is as old as the universe. Silicon has existed on our earth for millions of years, and in our universe's stars for much longer. In 1809, Gay-Lussac and Thenard obtained the pure element silicon by passing silicon flouride over heated pottasium, but they did not realize that it was an element. In 1824, Berzelius isolated the element and realized that he had done so. He gave it the name "silicium." In 1831, the present name of "silicon" was suggested by Thomson. The more useful silicon carbide was discovered accidentally by E.C. Acheson in 1891, and industrial scale production of silicon carbide, or carborundum, was begun in 1893.
