silica

n : a white or colorless vitreous insoluble solid; various forms

occur widely in the earth's crust as quartz or

cristobalite or tridymite or lechartelierite [syn: {silicon

oxide}, {silicon dioxide}]

silicon

1. The material used as the base (or

"substrate") for most {integrated circuit}s.

2. {Hardware}, especially {integrated circuit}s or

{microprocessor}-based computer systems (compare {iron}).

Contrast: {software}. See also {sandbender}.

[{Jargon File}]

(1996-05-28)