Spiraling under control. Light beams with orbital angular momentum have spiral-shaped wave fronts, rather than flat planes. A new device transforms conventional photon spin into this form of angular momentum. Credit: Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 163905 (2006).

A couple of interesting sci-tech stories involving light. At ScienCentral we find out about a new way of non-invasively monitoring brain activity using light. The system called EROS (Event Related Optical Signal) literally shines special wavelengths of light through the skull and records the reflections from the brain. It's already been used in one experiment to show how older brains are more easily distracted.

Meanwhile, at Physical Review Focus we learn that researchers have built a device that is capable of reversing the spin of photons and adding orbital angular momentum to the photons. Photons that possess orbital angular momentum interact with matter differently than photons with simple spin. The research alone is fascinating, and something I understand at only the most superficial of levels, but work of this kind has applications in communications and quantum and optical computing. Be sure to check out the very well written and non-technical article at Physical Review Focus.

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