Report: Smallest Diamond Capable to Conduct Electricity, Standford Research Confirms
The scientists of Stanford University have discovered a way to use diamondoids-the smallest possible bits of diamond- to assemble atoms into the thinnest possible electrical wires. The discovery of thin wires will be capable to conducts electricity without energy loss.
According to PHYS, the new discovery technique is potentially used for a wide range of application, including fabrics that generate electricity, optoelectronic devices that employ both electricity and light, and superconducting materials that conduct electricity without any loss.
The process starts with attaching a sulfur atom to the diamondoids. The wires practically assemble themselves through a Lego- inspired building methods. After putting it into solution, each sulfur atom bonds with copper ion, creating the nanowire 'building blocks' that draws the Lego comparisons. The building blocks snap together to create a wire.
As a result of this, the needle-like wires have a semiconducting core- a combination of copper and sulfur known as chalcogenide-surrounded by the attached diamondoids, form an insulating shell.
The diamondoids they used found naturally in petroleum fluids, interlocking cages of carbon and Hydrogen. The scientists in an SLAC laboratory are extracted and separated diamondoids by size and geometry.
Over the past decade, Stanford Professor Zhi-Xun Sheen has found a number of potentialities in the diamonds, including improving electron microscope images and making tiny electronic gadgets, reported by Engadget.
The new assembly method has also other benefits too. The attractive properties of diamondoids allow scientists to build tiny wires with pinpoint precision. Scientists can essentially construct the wire and try to find out the properties at the end of the results.
However, the research is still in the early stages. Though, this new result could lead the creation of brand new materials with electrical properties.
This new research could open a new era of electrical efficiency, as well as open the door to clothing with badass electrical properties.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com