Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It’s a silvery-gray metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors tin and silicon. Germanium has some unique properties that make it useful in electronic applications. For example, it is a semiconductor, meaning it can conduct electricity better than an insulator but not as well as a conductor like copper. Germanium is also transparent to infrared light and can be used as a lens for thermal imaging.