Silium

Silium is a variant of silicon with atomic formula Si-7i-7o, discovered on the planet Mairn in -96 FA. Chemically similar to standard silicon, it has greater conductivity at higher temperatures. It maintains this property when manufactured into semiconductors, which were an extremely important component of computers at the time of silium’s discovery. The most advanced computers of the time were able to be immediately augmented with better performance by substituting silicon with silium within the semiconductors of their circuits.

The resource played an important role well into the early Foundation Age, being discovered in numerous other locations within other planetary systems. Over time, more efficient technologies were developed to replace silicon-based semiconductors, and the silium industry is today mostly defunct.

Legacy

Silium was extremely influential in the early history of spaceflight, revolutionizing humanity’s outlook on space exploration by bringing into full focus the potential importance that unpredictable discoveries could hold. Silium has been referred to romantically as the “first variant”. The space exploration economy still pivots around the discovery of variants to this day.

Formation

Silium is chemically comparable to silicon, found naturally bonded with numerous other elements to form various rocks and minerals. Silium generally forms only under certain planetary conditions involving excess carbon dioxide, lack of oxygen, cooler temperatures, and a modestly pressurized atmosphere, all conditions not uncommon for a variety of worlds near their system’s frost line. There are other more complex requirements that interfere or assist with its formation, not all of which are completely understood.