Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12.
It is a shiny gray solid which bears a close physical resemblance to the other five elements in the second column (group 2, or alkaline earth metals) of the periodic table: all group 2 elements have the same electron configuration in the outer electron shell and a similar crystal structure.
Magnesium is the eleventh most abundant element by mass in the human body and is essential to all cells and some 300 enzymes.
Magnesium ions interact with polyphosphate compounds such as ATP, DNA, and RNA. Hundreds of enzymes require magnesium ions to function. Magnesium compounds are used medicinally as common laxatives, antacids (e.g., milk of magnesia), and to stabilize abnormal nerve excitation or blood vessel spasm in such conditions as eclampsia.
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14.
It is a hard and brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre; and it is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor.
It is a member of group 14 in the periodic table: carbon is above it; and germanium, tin, and lead are below it.