A New Application for Diamonds in Space

Diamonds are the hardest known material on the planet with very high thermal conductivity. These qualities make diamonds useful in many industries. Of the large quantity of diamonds that are mined by firms like Rio Tinto Plc (NYSE: RIO), about 70% of these are sold for use in various industries. These small, granular, opaque diamonds commonly known as bort are used as abrasives for cutting tools as well as in drilling, grinding, polishing and drilling. They are also preferred due to their cost-effectiveness as well as the fact that they last longer as well as cutting faster.

Diamonds also possess electrical, chemical, thermal and electrical properties, making them ideal for wire drawing and computer disk drives, among many other applications.

A team of researchers at The Australian National University (“ANU”) School of Chemistry discovered a new and valuable application for diamonds. The scientists invented minute electronic diamond parts that are more durable and can perform better than today’s gadgets in environments with high radiation like rocket engines.

This team of scientists has also built a different model of an ultra-thin transistor that is essentially a semiconductor generally used to switch or amplify electrical power within gadgets like smart phones, laptops and tablets as well as electronic signals.

Due to having the highest thermal conductivity of any material on the planet, diamonds are the ideal material to use in transistors that need to endure cosmic ray assault in space or extreme heat in a car engine. This is with regard to durability and performance.

In contrast with Silicon carbide and Gallium Nitride, diamonds are a far superior material to use in transistors for these purposes. Additionally, the lead researcher Dr. Zongyou Yin explained that the diamond transistor was in its final stages of the proof-of-concept stage.

This study was conducted jointly with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology located in Israel and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. Science Advances has published this study.

Both industrial quality diamonds and gems are the by-products of underground or open pit mining. Diamonds are usually found in kimberlite pipes or mined from fine grained fertile soil deposits in coastal, undersea and riverbed locations. To acquire these minerals in the most cost-effective way, a smooth and efficient mining process is required. To determine whether a kimberlite pipe is valuable, miners conduct airborne geophysical surveys and geographical sampling schemes in the specific search area. A grade analysis will then be conducted to determine if the kimberlite bears diamonds after a list of ideal locations has been drawn up.

Now that the possibility of using diamonds in outer space operations is here, these gems may have an even greater demand since the supply isn’t growing in tandem with the quantities needed for all industries that use diamond.

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