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Exotic materials called topological insulators, discovered just a few years ago, have yielded some of their secrets to a team of MIT researchers. For the first time, the team showed that light can be used to obtain information about the spin of electrons flowing over the material’s surface, and has even found a way to control these electron movements by varying the polarization of a light source.

German physicists led by Prof. Dr. Hartmut Zabel have demonstrated the spin pumping effect in magnetic layers for the first time experimentally.

Researchers here have created the first electronic circuit to merge traditional inorganic semiconductors with organic "spintronics" – devices that utilize the spin of electrons to read, write and manipulate data.

By successfully changing the spin of a molecule, researchers have been able to perform an on/off operation for a molecular magnet. Such reversible switching paves the way for single molecule memory.

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the early 20th century, two famous discoveries about spin were made.

In addition to flows of electrons, researchers are seeking options for the spin of electrons to be used in future information processing.