For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that information can flow through a diamond wire, a finding that may pave way for faster and more powerful computers. In the experiment, electrons did not flow through diamond as they do in traditional electronics.

Rather, they stayed in place and passed along a magnetic effect called “spin” to each other down the wire — like a row of sports spectators doing “the Mexican Wave.” This spin could one day be used to transmit data in computer circuits, researchers said.

Spintronics The experiment carried at The Ohio State University, found that diamond transmits spin better than most metals in which researchers have previously observed the effect. Researchers worldwide are working to develop so-called “spintronics,” which could make computers simultaneously faster and more powerful.

Diamond has a lot going for it when it comes to spintronics, said lead investigator Chris Hammel. It is hard, transparent, electrically insulating, impervious to environmental contamination, resistant to acids, and doesn’t hold heat as semiconductors do.

Small step The price tag for the diamond wire did not reach engagement ring proportions, Hammel said. It cost a mere $100, since it was made of synthetic, rather than natural, diamond. The findings represent the first very small step along a very long road that could one day lead to diamond transistors, researchers said.

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