Investing in graphene just got another thumbs up. Researchers at
Fudan University in China have just announced that a theoretical
study of graphene has revealed the material’s suitability for
the manufacture of spin switches. Spin switches rely on magnetic
spin properties rather than electric charge to produce the kind
of “valves” used in such advanced applications as hard disk
drive read heads. Although it is not necessary to understand the
science in order to make a well informed financial decision the
news adds to the increasing number of research studies that
suggest investing in graphene would be a prescient financial
decision. The researchers found that graphene nanoribbons
maximise the unique edge properties of graphene to produce spin
polarization. Their calculations show how the nanoribbons of two
graphene islands form parallel and anti-parallel polarizations
with respect to each other depending on the amount of energy
passed across them. The spin anti-aligned islands do not pass
electrons across the