Spins in N-V Centers in Diamond (IMAGE) DOE/Ames National Laboratory Caption Spins of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond (represented on the center photo as bright spots and denoted as the orange arrow on the figure to the left) interact with a bath of environmental spins (denoted as green arrows). The environmental spins interact with the N-V spins, and destroy their fragile quantum state. By applying a specially designed sequence with more and more pulses, the lifetime of the quantum spin state can be significantly extended (as shown in the figure at right). Credit Institute of Nanosciences at Delft University of Technology & U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.