New
Scientist: Pure diamond is a super-tough electrical
insulator, but given the right impurities it becomes a
semiconductor. Crucially, it is also the best thermal conductor
on Earth. Those properties means synthetic diamond could be
used to make microchips that handle high-power signals but do
not require power-hungry cooling systems."Diamond-based control
modules in electric cars and industrial machinery could lead to
considerable energy savings," says Hideaki Yamada of National
Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
in Tsukuba, Japan.
