Physicists have found a way to change the direction of the spin of an electron with an applied voltage.

They 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.

The ability to control the spin of the electron help determine 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 serve as the basis for anti-eavesdropping technology.