Silicon Dioxide
The Pros and Cons
Silicon Dioxide
To begin, Silicon Dioxide also known as silica is found naturally as crystalline state (which means it looks a little like a crystal). This chemical compound is often found in sand, but not all sands. If you ever liked playing with sand, like me, you could notice the small clear little crystal like bits in the sand. That would be silica. Silica can also be found in rocks and observed as minerals, called quartz, which is another crystalline state of silica.
Close up of sand
Look closely at the picture, notice the granular look that it gives. The shape and appearance is made by the formation of the elements, the reason that they do not look uniform or all the same is because the compounds would form differently.
Silica (sand)
This would be a picture of just silica without the sand, notice the overall shape of the silica in its natural state.
Silica Crystal formation
Though silica is often found in sand, it can be also found in the form of rocks or minerals underground. This is quartz and it is commonly used in watches to make them more accurate than windup watches.
The Molecular Shape of Silicon Dioxide
This is a two dimensional representation of what the molecule would look like. The Silicon Dioxide molecule in this image shows molecular bond between, a Silicon atom and two oxygen atoms. The atoms are held together by a polar covalent bond which means that the electrons are closer one of the atoms more than the other giving a magnetic charge. The Silicon dioxide molecule shape is bent which is how it could be a polar molecule which means that one end of the molecule is Slightly negative and one end is slightly positive, this is represented by the two symbols on the right of the image.
Silicon Dioxide compositions and forms
SiO2
This is a two dimensional diagram is of Silicon dioxide. The chemical composition of silicon and oxygen can be seen very clearly here, they are all covalently bonded to form a Giant Covalent Bond which enables the compound to have a very high melting point and gives it's structure more strength.
Different forms of Silicon Dioxide
In this diagram it shows two chemical structures of Silicon Dioxide. The image on the left is the chemical composition of Crystalline Silicon Dioxide, this is one of the strongest form/shape of this chemical compound.
SiO2 single
This is a three dimensional, computer generated model of a single molecule of Silicon Dioxide. If we had a microscope to look at silica at a molecular level it would look something similar to this, if there were only one molecule.
Common Uses
Dry packs
Often I find small paper packets that they put in with dry foods such as beef jerky to keep it dried so it won't go bad. They are also found in new furniture to keep the wood or felt dry. In those packets are silica gel which is synthetically made from sodium silicate, but it still has the same chemical formula. This form of silica has a strong affinity to water molecules enabling it to absorb a fair amount of water.
Manufaturing
Silicon dioxide is a anti-caking agent that is very important in the manufacturing of powdered goods and products. What a anti-caking agent does is that it separates the powder so that it prevents lumping and clogging in machinery. It also insures that when the powder is stored it, can maintain the ability to stay separate.
Glass
Silicon dioxide is a very a strong compound that is transparent, these physical properties are why we use glass. Silicon Dioxide powder can be heated to make glass when the powder is heated the silicon dioxide bonds weaken and break, but when bonded again many of its natural structural strength is lost.
Health Benefits
Silicon Dioxide is a mineral that can be found in foods that we eat. This chemical compound is important because it plays a large role in the development of bones, teeth, nails and hair. Some biomedical researchers have found that a lack of Silicon dioxide in our bodies could result in arthritis, weak bone formation and poor tooth development.
Safe use
When handling this chemical compound avoid direct contact with skin and eyes, because of the Silicon dioxide crystals are able to irritate the skin, cause tearing, redness and itching. Inhaling the crystals in the form dust could cause lung damage possibly (unconfirmed) to also lead to lung cancer. Consuming large amounts of Silicon Dioxide over a long period of time could result in the formation of kidney stones.
Reference List
Caleb Durenberger, http://www.livestrong.com/article/520897-what-is-silicon-dioxide-in-supplements/ (July 7, 2014)
(No Author), http://www.newhealthguide.org/Silicon-Dioxide.html (July 8, 2014)
(No Author), http://www.drugs.com/inactive/silicon-dioxide-170.html (July 9,2014)