"PLASTIC HDs: Magnetized polymer eyed as storage medium"
The world's first photo-induced magnetism in a polymer was demonstrated by researchers here at Ohio State University and at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. In the experiment, a blue laser raised the magnetism of the polymer by 50 percent; a green laser brought it back to nominal. The pure-research finding, at 75 K (325�F below zero), could lead to room-temperature storage devices, such as hard disks, that could be written at high densities by laser-based read/write heads, the researchers said.

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Story in EE Times: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20020226S0030