Physicists rotate beams of light

Controlling the rotation of light - this amazing feat was accomplished at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna), by means of a ultra thin semiconductor. This can be used to create a transistor that works with light instead of electrical current. Light waves can oscillate in different directions - much like a string that can vibrate up and down or left and right - depending on the direction in which it is picked. This is called the polarization of light. Physicists at the Vienna University of Technology have now, together with researchers at Würzburg University, developed a method to control and manipulate the polarization of light using ultra thin layers of semiconductor material. For future research on light and its polarization this is an important step forward - and this breakthrough could even open up possibilities for completely new computer technology. The experiment can be viewed as the optical version of an electronic transistor.