Why can silicon exist in an oxygen enviroment?
Vocabulary congener Silicon, like its congener, carbon, is fairly inert. Like carbon, silicon will burn vigorously in oxygen if ignited to produce silica: Si(s) + O2(g) = SiO2(s) Silicon ignites if heated to temperatures around 1000°C. But saying that silicon can’t exist in an oxygen environment is like saying a charcoal briquet can’t exist in air. Burning silicon releases about 860 kJ of heat per mole, compared to 394 kJ per mole for burning carbon, so a silicon fire could potentially burn quite a bit hotter than a carbon fire. Author: Fred Senese senese@antoine.frostburg.
