Silica gel is a granular

Granularity

Granularity is the extent to which a system is broken down into small parts, either the system itself or its description or observation. It is the "extent to which a larger entity is subdivided...

, vitreous, porous

Porosity

Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0–1, or as a percentage between 0–100%...

 form of silica made synthetically from sodium silicate

Sodium silicate

Sodium silicate is the common name for a compound sodium metasilicate, Na2SiO3, also known as water glass or liquid glass. It is available in aqueous solution and in solid form and is used in cements, passive fire protection, refractories, textile and lumber processing, and automobiles...

. Despite its name, silica gel is a solid

Solid

Solid is one of the three classical states of matter . It is characterized by structural rigidity and resistance to changes of shape or volume. Unlike a liquid, a solid object does not flow to take on the shape of its container, nor does it expand to fill the entire volume available to it like a...

. It is a naturally occurring mineral that is purified and processed into either granular or beaded form. As a desiccant

Desiccant

A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains a state of dryness in its local vicinity in a moderately well-sealed container....

, it has an average pore size of 2.4 nanometers and has a strong affinity for water molecules.

Silica gel is most commonly encountered in everyday life as beads packed in a vapor-permeable plastic.