What can i do with a fist-sized chunk of silicon ??? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 06:44:08 pm
content: Not one but two fist-sized chunks of silicon, they're kinda grey and have a nice crystal structure to them.The silicon i have is electrically conductive and is quite fun to take a small piece and heat it with a PSU.It is also quite thermally conductive as i noticed while playing.At this point i could ( quite literally ) roll my own silicon.But bad puns aside i can't think of anything else i could do with it, any ideas ?

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 06:54:12 pm
content: Try making your own chips! Think of the cost savings!

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 07:00:45 pm
content: Are they electronics grade, or metallurgical grade? That will determine what you can do with them, though if they are quite conductive they probably are metallurgical grade, used to refine steel. You probably can look to see if you can make some point contact transistors, or make a few diodes, or even a Schottky rectifier if you use some gold as a contact on the one face.

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 07:12:49 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on March 03, 2016, 07:00:45 pmI have some CPUs with some really thick gold plated pins that would work fine i reckon.

author: chris_leyson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 07:20:29 pm
content: Point contact diodes spring to mind, cats whisker style as in early radio detectors. Don't know if it will work with Silicon though, or perhaps fets, or better still slice it into small chunks and sell on ebay.

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 08:36:50 pm
content: Maybe i should make a CO2laser, from what know i they produce stupid amounts of IR but need a special lens that could pass it through, and silicon is quite good at that.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 12:51:39 am
content: Quote from: chris_leyson on March 03, 2016, 07:20:29 pmTHIS.Diamond saw. small 1/2-inch cubes.Sell on eBay for $10 a pop as magical, audiophoolery, free-energy accessories.

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 03:57:35 am
content: Post photos, OP. I'd like to see what they look like.

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 04:21:04 am
content: Sell them to some idiot on eBay!! Actually I would put a small silicon ingot or puck on my desk for a decoration.

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 05:17:15 am
content: Quote from: calexanian on March 04, 2016, 04:21:04 amI had half a bucket of this stuff and my mom used it to decorate the garden.

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 05:33:00 am
content: Quote from: AntiProtonBoy on March 04, 2016, 03:57:35 amI could probably sell this to audiofools claiming that it absorbs negative magnetic fields.

author: RobertoLG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 05:59:01 am
content: I hope you don't mind me posting this here, I just want to share this one I have, dunno exactly what it is, it's kinda semiconductor, and heavy for it's size

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 06:47:20 am
content: Might it be Geranium?

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 06:50:23 am
content: They look pretty.Quote from: tautech on March 04, 2016, 06:47:20 amNah Germanium is much "blacker" and metallic looking. Also, if that was a chunk of Germanium, that would be worth A LOT.

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 07:04:21 am
content: Some form of pyrite? Arsenopyrite maybe?

author: RobertoLG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 07:38:39 am
content: well, let me try to describe it better, it has a crystaline form, shines like greyish metal, it chips of if you hit it, my phone camera is crapy, it doesn't show it in good detail

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 08:14:03 am
content: Quote from: AntiProtonBoy on March 04, 2016, 06:50:23 amYeah I know what Geranium is like, I've got a crystal a bit bigger than a big pea that I've had since I was a kid.Pics often don't show true colours depending on how the subject is lit of course.Anyway if it's to be a guessing game maybe the volume can be measured by water displacement and compared against weight for a specific gravity, that'll narrow down choices of what these substances might be.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 08:17:29 am
content: Quote from: Mechanical Menace on March 04, 2016, 07:04:21 am+1

author: jwm_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 08:20:25 am
content: Start your element collection! (Note: it's addictive and expensive and fun). I highly recommend a pure tungsten block once you exhaust the easily obtainable ones. Twice as dense as lead, it feels surreal to pick up. Bonus points for getting a visually identical block of magnesium, it is really odd to hold one of each in your hands of challenge a stranger to pick up both and watch their reaction.

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 12:23:08 pm
content: Quote from: jwm_ on March 04, 2016, 08:20:25 amI have about 4 kilograms of pure magnesium already.

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 03:13:29 pm
content: Oooooh, shiny

author: nuno
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2016, 08:22:53 pm
content: Intel's museum has a 122Kg silicon ingot in display, you can see a photo at this page:http://anewdomain.net/2013/06/10/intel-museum/I have somewhere a photo of me hugging the shinny ingot, but I'm not gonna post it

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2016, 01:15:48 am
content: Quote from: XOIIO on March 04, 2016, 03:13:29 pmMy exact first thought.

author: PointyOintment
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2016, 10:37:17 pm
content: Quote from: nuno on March 04, 2016, 08:22:53 pmI'm pretty sure I have a picture of that ingot too, as well as the name-speller, and several other things at the Intel Museum. But they're on my other computer, so I can't post them right now.

author: nuno
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2016, 12:19:24 am
content: I have few of other stuff too, I remember for example of core memory, which was the only place I've seen the thing live.