It's not bling, but this nano-ring may be the key to a quantum computer

Nano Ring Who needs a monster rock when you can have this beaut? Steven Prawer at the University of Melbourne

Granted, it will be far too small for her to show off to her friends, but if your potential fiancée has a love of science, she just might accept this bauble over something flashier. It’s the world’s smallest diamond ring, created by a group of Australian physicists. The ring measures just 5 microns wide and 300 nanometers thick. And no, it’s not really for advertising your engagement. The ring is actually part of a device used to produce and detect single photons.

The group that developed it, at Australia’s multi-university Centre for Quantum Computer Technology, is doing the fundamental research that could pave the way towards a quantum computer–the next, next generation of thinking machines.

Via
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