News Article
Research sheds new light on Nazi symbol
It might be the symbol of the darkest episode in human history but the swastika – once an emblem of peace before the Nazis hijacked it – turns out to have some very useful properties in electronics.
It might be the symbol of the darkest episode in human history but the swastika – once an emblem of peace before the Nazis hijacked it – turns out to have some very useful properties in electronics.
Scientists from the University of Southampton in the UK have discovered that the swastika has the ideal geometry for encoding information in optical computing.
The idea is to arrange tens of thousands of one micron-wide swastika-shaped holes on a tiny chip, and then shine light at them. The polarisation of the light that is reflected back depends on the orientation of the swastikas.
This is because swastikas twist light, explains Darren Bagnall, an optical engineer at the University of Southampton.
"The swastika was a powerful symbol in several cultures for several thousand years before it was adopted by the Nazis. We are using it because the shape has special features for fundamental physics.
" "It is entirely made up of vertical and horizontal lines and it is square but it can still provide the feeling of left-handed or right-handed rotation, which causes the swastika to twist light."
"The left or right handedness could – the researchers believe – be exploited to store the on-off signals used to encode digital information.
"European politicians are currently debating the possibility of banning the swastika because of its use by extreme-right political groups. Whether such a ban would also apply to the use of swastikas in electronics is not clear.
Scientists from the University of Southampton in the UK have discovered that the swastika has the ideal geometry for encoding information in optical computing.
The idea is to arrange tens of thousands of one micron-wide swastika-shaped holes on a tiny chip, and then shine light at them. The polarisation of the light that is reflected back depends on the orientation of the swastikas.
This is because swastikas twist light, explains Darren Bagnall, an optical engineer at the University of Southampton.
"The swastika was a powerful symbol in several cultures for several thousand years before it was adopted by the Nazis. We are using it because the shape has special features for fundamental physics.
" "It is entirely made up of vertical and horizontal lines and it is square but it can still provide the feeling of left-handed or right-handed rotation, which causes the swastika to twist light."
"The left or right handedness could – the researchers believe – be exploited to store the on-off signals used to encode digital information.
"European politicians are currently debating the possibility of banning the swastika because of its use by extreme-right political groups. Whether such a ban would also apply to the use of swastikas in electronics is not clear.
