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ATHENS, Ohio -- Todays computers and different technological gizmos operate on electronic charges, but researchers predict that a new generation of smaller, faster, more efficient devices could be developed base on another scientific concept -- electronic spin. The problem, however, is that researchers have piece it challenging to control or predict spin which keeps practical applications bulge of reach. yet physicists in Europe, California and at Ohio University now have make up a way to manipulate the spin of an electron with a waver of voltage from a battery, according to research findings published in the young issue of the journal Physical Review Letters. In the new study, scientists use voltage to the electron in a quantum dot, which is a tiny, nanometer-sized semiconductor. The burst of originator changed the direction of the electrons spin -- which can move either up or down. This also caused it to emit a small particle of light called a photon, explained Richard W arburton, a physicist with Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, and lead author on the new paper. usually you have no control over this at all an electron flips its spin at rough point, and you scratch your head and wonder wherefore it happened. But in our experiment, we can choose how long this process takes, he said. The experiment was based on a theory by Sasha Govorov, an Ohio University assistant professor of physics and astronomy who is co-author on the current paper. capital of S bulge outh Dakota Petroff, a scientist with the University of California at Santa Barbara, contributed the semiconductor used in the experiment, inch Arsenide, which commonly is used in electronics. Its one of those happy collaborations -- Pierre has presumption us some fantastic material and Sasha has come up with some really smart ideas, Warburton said. The scientists were able to manipulate how long it would take for the electron to flip its spin and emit a photon from one to 20 nanoseconds. But Govorovs theory suggests that 20 nanoseconds isnt the upper limit, which will lead the physicists to try out longer time periods. Scientists abilities to control the spin of the electron help fix the properties of the photon, which in turn could have implications for the development of optoelectronics and quantum cryptography. Photons could be encoded with secure information, which could officiate as the basis for anti-eavesdropping technology, Warburton said. The current study is one of many in the growing field of nanoscience that aims to find, understand and control physical effects at the nanoscale that could serve as the basis of a