DailyDirt: Diamonds, With Lucy, In The Sky

Studies

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Mon, Apr 2nd 2012 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Carbon comes in several allotropes: graphene, diamond, nanotubes, buckyballs, nanofoam etc. Some forms are easier to manufacture than others, but someday we might have diamond-based semiconductors or diamond-based quantum computers. If you like shiny minerals, here are just a few interesting links on diamonds.

The world's first all-diamond ring -- no setting needed, but it's kinda difficult to re-size -- weighs in at about 150 carats and $68 million. And if it gets stuck on your finger, it'll be really hard to cut off without taking your finger with it.... [url]
The 45-carat Hope Diamond could provide some insights on the geology of the Earth, but it's not easy to conduct science on famous museum artifacts. Scientists are looking at how boron makes blue diamonds blue, and they're etching off a few atomic layers of the diamond to determine how much boron is in it. [url]
Diamonds can store qubits at room temperature for at least a couple seconds -- a pretty long time in the world of quantum physics. This discovery might lead to more practical quantum computers -- but general quantum computing is still a long way from becoming as useful as traditional computing. [url]
To discover more interesting science-related stuff, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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Filed Under: allotrope, carbon, chemistry, diamonds, quantum computing, qubit

20 Comments

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:Lobo Santo (profile), 2 Apr 2012 @ 5:06pm

Qubits for seconds
Seconds!? Not milliseconds or microseconds?

Normal ram has to be 'refreshed' every 50 (give a or take a few dozen) milliseconds or it forgets its data--so a couple seconds would make it awesome RAM!
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Rob, 2 Apr 2012 @ 6:21pm

Re: Qubits for seconds
There are plenty of non-volatile RAM technologies out there, as well as volatile RAM technologies that don't need to be refreshed, like SRAM. DRAM just does a better job of getting performance and size out of the same dollar.
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abc gum, 2 Apr 2012 @ 6:58pm

Diamond jewelry - good example of an artificial market.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Apr 2012 @ 8:07pm

-- weighs in at about 150 carats and $68 million.

WOW,, how much does $68 Million weigh ?
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teka, 2 Apr 2012 @ 8:11pm

I thought that diamond tended to be brittle. It is Hard, not Strong or tough. That ring would probably shatter if it fell on a tile floor.
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Torg (profile), 2 Apr 2012 @ 8:23pm

Re:
"Brittle", in materials terms, just means it breaks instead of bending. Lack of deformation does not mean that it falls apart when dropped. That tile floor will break before the ring does.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Apr 2012 @ 8:43pm

The experimental quantum-grade diamond is 99.99 percent pure carbon 12 (DIAMOND), the most common isotope of the element. But the crystal also contains a small amount of the heavier isotope carbon 13 (NOT DIAMOND) as well as implanted nitrogen ions (NOT DIAMOND) that form defects in the diamond lattice known as nitrogen vacancy centers. Both impurities have certain quantum benefits.

So the qubits are not 'stored in a diamond' they are stored in Carbon 13 and nitrogen ions..

Consider a transistor in a plastic case, do you write that the transistor works because it is in a plastic case ?

"my computer works because the box it is housed in is metal !!"

Dont even bother to consider that "time" and qubits have a significantly different relationship to each other compared to 'normal' matter.

If something came be in two states (0 and 1) at any one time (superposition), then time itself ceases to be a significant factor. You simply cannot equate electronic computer concepts (like DRAM) to how a quantum computer could possibly operate.

You also might be able to store the state of a qubit over time, but you still need super cold equipment to read or write or 'program' information
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Apr 2012 @ 8:47pm

Re:
That not to say that I dont think the work this group is doing is amazing, cutting edge, and possibly world changing work.

it's all a part of the development of what hopefully will be increadable computing power, and work like that will or could make that possible sooner rather than later.

It's just that TD's take on it was flawed as usual..
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 2 Apr 2012 @ 8:57pm

Re: �carbon 13 (NOT DIAMOND)�
Isotopes of carbon are still carbon, and still just as diamond-y. They occupy exactly the same positions in the tetrahedral diamond lattice as carbon 12. Chemically they are virtually identical.

Let�s put it this way: if living things can�t tell the difference between carbon 12, carbon 13 and carbon 14, why should a piece of rock?
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teka, 2 Apr 2012 @ 11:12pm

Re: Re:
I know what brittle means.

I also know, from a friend who does amateur jewelry work, that the moderate pressure of fitting a diamond into a setting can easily chip and crack it. Add that to the giant structure of the ring and all the places where pressure would be troublesome.. Just as well that it will probably never be worn.
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Rose M. Welch (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 3:13am

And if it gets stuck on your finger, it'll be really hard to cut off without taking your finger with it....

No. Not true. Also, silly.
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 3 Apr 2012 @ 3:29am

Re: No. Not true. Also, silly.
The taper of your fingers is such that it is easier to slip a ring on than off.

Been there, done that.
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abc gum, 3 Apr 2012 @ 4:57am

Re: Re:
"It's just that TD's take on it was flawed as usual.."

And your response was perfect, as usual.
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Rekrul, 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:29pm

Re: Re: No. Not true. Also, silly.
The main reason that rings are harder to take off than to put on is that the skin bunches up when you try to pull it off.

When you slide a ring on, the skin of your finger can't move very much since it only goes from your fingertip down to the base. However when you try to pull the ring off, the skin can move quite a bit more, and ends up getting bunched up at the knuckle.

The solution for a stuck ring, in addition to using some kind of lubrication is to hold the skin taunt at the base of the finger while attempting to pull the ring off.
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Rekrul, 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:31pm

Diamonds can store qubits at room temperature for at least a couple seconds -- a pretty long time in the world of quantum physics.
I'll file this right next to all the other advances that are going to revolutionize computers 'any day now', like IBM's manipulation of individual atoms...
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 5:39pm

Re: Re: �carbon 13 (NOT DIAMOND)�
so you believe graphite is "diamond-y" !!!

its position is irrelevent, it's still not diamond, even if it is IN a diamond.. is nitrogen 'diamond-y' as well ?
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 5 Apr 2012 @ 9:03pm

Re: �carbon 13 (NOT DIAMOND)�
None of which bears any relevance whatsoever to what I said.
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Rose M. Welch (profile), 12 Apr 2012 @ 3:21pm

Re: Re: No. Not true. Also, silly.
And if it gets stuck on your finger, it'll be really hard to cut off without taking your finger with it....

Not slip off or take off. Cut off. Specifically.

I used to manage a fine jewelry store, and we had to remove stuck rings on a regular basis. Most took a special little saw tool. Others, such as tungsten bands and this ring, require a C-clamp. Easy and relatively painless.

Been there, done that.
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Rose M. Welch (profile), 12 Apr 2012 @ 3:22pm

Re: Re: Re: No. Not true. Also, silly.
The solution for a stuck ring, in addition to using some kind of lubrication is to hold the skin taunt at the base of the finger while attempting to pull the ring off.

And on that note, please don't use your spit if you're going to hand the ring to someone else. That's just disgusting. Also, you can draw the skin taunt by slightly bending your finger.
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induz (profile), 13 Aug 2019 @ 12:00am

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Get Latest indian Diamond Jewellery design Online in Kolkata at Best Prices from InduzJeweller. induz jewellers also has best diamond substitute jewellery in kolkata
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