9 years ago
2
Glowing diamonds make great thermometers
A unique defect in diamonds grown using nickel precursors can turn the gems into nanoscale thermometers with unmatched precision.
Continue Reading http://news.sciencemag.org
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Any realistic uses though?
From the article, it mentions measuring temperature fluctuations at the "nanoscopic" level as well as studying friction between two materials on much smaller scales. This is pretty cutting edge stuff, from the article: "For starters, scientists don’t know precisely how to make the S3 defect centers. Current techniques rely on growing diamonds with a nickel precursor and hoping the defects show up." I'm sure as the technique is refined and understood, more applications will arise.