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Masers (microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), the microwave frequency forerunner of the laser, are not widely used as they must be cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero to function. A research team from Imperial and UCL have used a synthetic diamond grown in a nitrogen-rich atmosphere to create the world's first maser that operates continuously at room-temperature.
Masers could be used in a range of applications such as medical imaging abd airport security scanning, and could play a pivotal role in improving sensors to remotely detect bombs, new technology for quantum computers, and might even improve space communication methods to potentially find life on other planets.