A team of quantum experts have developed a device known as a maser which uses a specially created purple diamond to amplify weak microwave signals, such as those which can come from deep space.

It seems like a science fiction MacGuffin: it uses a purple diamond in a quartz tube exposed to an intense magnetic field. The system creates a maser, the microwave equivalent of a laser.

Twelve natural-color purple diamond crystals from Siberia, and seven round brilliants that were faceted from some of these crystals, were studied using spectroscopic methods to better understand their ...