Science/Tech

Experiment Reveals Diamonds' Potential In Computing

By Kamal Nayan | Update Date: Mar 24, 2014 09:58 AM EDT

For the very first time, scientists have demonstrated that information can flow through a diamond wire more efficiently than most metals. 

In the diamond wire, electrons did not flow through as they do in traditional electronics. Instead they stayed in place and passed along a magnetic effect called 'spin' to each other down the wire. 

Scientists believe that in near future spin could be used to transmit data in computer circuits too. 

"Basically, it's inert. You can't do anything to it. To a scientist, diamonds are kind of boring, unless you're getting engaged," said lead investigator Chris Hammel, Ohio Eminent Scholar in Experimental Physics at Ohio State in a press release. "But it's interesting to think about how diamond would work in a computer."

Citing the advantages of diamond as transmitting medium researchers said the material was hard, transparent, electrically insulating and resistant to acids. In addition it did not hold heat as semiconductors do which will make it even more tempting choice in future. 

Hammel confirmed that price was not a factor that would raise concerns while implementing it. It cost a mere $100 as it has been made of synthetic rather than natural, diamond. 

"If this wire were part of a computer, it would transfer information. There's no question that you'd be able to tell at the far end of the wire what the spin state of the original particle was at the beginning," he added.

Researchers added that their experiment worked because they were able to observe electron spin on a smaller scale than ever before. 

"It's a dramatically huge effect that we were not anticipating," Hammel said.

"The fact that spins can move like this means that the conventional way that the world measures spin dynamics on the macroscopic level has to be reconsidered-it's actually not valid," he added.

The finding of the study have been published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

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