Swastika has "perfect shape" for use in microchip technology – scientist

Scientists have reportedly discovered a new application for the swastika in optical communications and electronics. The Nazi symbol turns out to have the perfect geometry for "twisting light" in a way that can encode information. An optical engineer at Southampton University has discovered how to arrange tens of thousands of swastika-shaped holes in a square millimeter gold chip. These change the polarization of light reflected back from the chip, in a direction that depends on the orientation of the swastikas' arms. "The swastika was a powerful symbol in several cultures for thousands of years before it was adopted by the Nazis," said Dr. Darren Bagnall. "We are using it because the shape has special features for fundamental physics. It is entirely made up of vertical and horizontal straight lines and it is square, but it can still provide the feeling of left-handed or right-handed rotation known as chirality, which causes our swastikas to twist light." Computer scientists are beginning to use polarization, the direction in which light waves vibrate, as a way to carry information in optical computing and cryptography.