silica
noun
sil·i·ca
| \ ˈsi-li-kə
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Definition of silica
: the dioxide of silicon SiO2 occurring in crystalline, amorphous, and impure forms (as in quartz, opal, and sand respectively)
Examples of silica in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As information zips back and forth through these cables, light waves bounce around inside, hitting against polymer and silica fibers. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "How Scattering Light Could Power a Microchip Revolution," 20 Aug. 2019 The experiment hopes to find a new structure of silica that could produce more fuel-efficient tires that are easier also on the environment. — Chabeli Herrera, orlandosentinel.com, "Those sonic booms you heard? That was SpaceX sending critical cargo to the ISS," 26 July 2019 While sand on Earth is primarily ground-up bedrock of silica, the sand on Titan doesn’t come from the icy bedrock, at least not entirely. — Jay Bennett, Smithsonian, "Dragonfly Spacecraft to Scour the Sands of Titan for the Chemistry of Life," 6 May 2012 The water has a high pH value, along with calcium, magnesium and silica, a mix that can promote muscle and bone health and flush toxins from the body. — William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, "Blue Spring Living Water is making a splash in Alabama," 11 Aug. 2019 Netthat the compound, made by using epoxy as a base and incorporating mango leaf extracts in a substrate of amorphous silica, achieved 99% inhibition of corrosion in commercial steel when immersed in a saline medium to mimic seawater. — Ranjit Devraj, Quartz India, "Mango leaves: Indian scientists’ solution to a $2.5 trillion global shipping problem," 24 July 2019 The team landed on silica aerogel, a 97 percent porous material that allows light through but is an insulator that slows the conduction of heat. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "This Material May Make Human Habitation on Mars Possible," 18 July 2019 That's exactly what a new paper proposes, suggesting silica aerogel as that insulant. — Alex Baker-whitcomb, WIRED, "The Best of Amazon Prime Day, Twitter's Redesign, and More News," 15 July 2019 And tire manufacturer Goodyear will be studying formations of silica, a key material used to produce tires, in space. — Chabeli Herrera, orlandosentinel.com, "Those sonic booms you heard? That was SpaceX sending critical cargo to the ISS," 26 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'silica.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for silica
silica
noun
English Language Learners Definition of silica
: a chemical that contains silicon, that is found in sand and quartz, and that is used to make glass
See the full definition for silica in the English Language Learners Dictionary
silica
noun
sil·i·ca
| \ ˈsil-i-kə
\
\
Medical Definition of silica
: the dioxide of silicon SiO2 that is used as an ingredient of simethicone and that occurs naturally in crystalline, amorphous, and impure forms (as in quartz, opal, and sand respectively)
— called also silicon dioxide
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