Researchers report advance in quantum processing By: Richard C. Lewis | 2021.02.24 | 06:20 pm Diamonds have been admired for their beauty, but they may have an even more practical application. A team of theoretical physicists, led by the University of Iowa, report that diamonds may be used to speed up computer search algorithms, decode encrypted messages, or provide highly-secure communications by manipulating information at the quantum level—the microscopic world inhabited by atoms and sub-atomic elementary particles. In a new study, the physicists predict coupling defects in the atomic arrangement of diamonds to small magnets will advance qubits, which exploit quantum mechanics to process information more efficiently than ordinary computer bits.