SILICA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does silica mean? 

• SILICA (noun)
  The noun SILICA has 1 sense:

1. a white or colorless vitreous insoluble solid (SiO2); various forms occur widely in the earth's crust as quartz or cristobalite or tridymite or lechatelierite

  Familiarity information: SILICA used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SILICA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A white or colorless vitreous insoluble solid (SiO2); various forms occur widely in the earth's crust as quartz or cristobalite or tridymite or lechatelierite

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

silica; silicon dioxide; silicon oxide

Hypernyms ("silica" is a kind of...):

oxide (any compound of oxygen with another element or a radical)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "silica"):

chert (variety of silica containing microcrystalline quartz)

flint (a hard kind of stone; a form of silica more opaque than chalcedony)

silex (a pure form of finely ground silica)

Holonyms ("silica" is a substance of...):

cristobalite (a white mineral consisting of silica; found in volcanic rocks)

quartz (a hard glossy mineral consisting of silicon dioxide in crystal form; present in most rocks (especially sandstone and granite); yellow sand is quartz with iron oxide impurities)

crystal; lechatelierite; quartz; quartz glass; vitreous silica (colorless glass made of almost pure silica)

tridymite (a mineral form of silica)

Derivation:

siliceous; silicious (relating to or containing or resembling silica)

 Context examples 

This oral formulation, which consists of DIM, d-alpha-tocopheryl acid succinate, phosphatidylcholine, and silica microencapsulated in starch, significantly improves the gastrointestinal absorption of DIM.

(Oral Microencapsulated Diindolylmethane, NCI Thesaurus)

The new study reports the detection of silica in two supernova remnants, called Cassiopeia A and G54.1+0.3.

(Exploding Stars Make Key Ingredient in Sand, Glass, NASA)

Analyzing data from an X-ray diffraction instrument on the rover that identifies minerals, scientists detected significant amounts of a silica mineral called tridymite.

(NASA Scientists Discover Unexpected Mineral on Mars, NASA)

Single celled phytoplankton that produce silica skeletons.

(Diatom, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

Self-assembling durable silica spheres that fit inside each other.

(Nanosphere, NCI Thesaurus)

Nanoscale structures or conduits comprised of silica or polymers that are small enough for individual biomolecules to pass through them.

(Nanochannel, NCI Thesaurus)

Silica is a rock-forming compound containing silicon and oxygen, commonly found on Earth as quartz.

(Curiosity Rover Inspects Unusual Bedrock, NASA)

It found a different mineral composition at each, including a silica mineral named cristobalite in the most recent sample.

(Curiosity Eyes Prominent Mineral Veins on Mars, NASA)

Chickweed tincture contains mucilage, saponins, silica, minerals, vitamins A, B, C and fatty acids.

(Chickweed Tincture, NCI Thesaurus)

Specific types include: • Black lung disease among coal miners, from inhaling coal dust • Farmer's lung, from inhaling farm dust • Asbestosis, from inhaling asbestos fibers • Siderosis, from inhaling iron from mines or welding fumes • Silicosis, from inhaling silica dust

(Interstitial Lung Diseases, NIH)