2 transistor in an ESR sample tube. view more Credit: University of Tsukuba Tsukuba, Japan and Warsaw, Poland - Scientists from the University of Tsukuba and a scientist from the Institute of High Pressure Physics detected and mapped the electronic spins moving in a working transistor made of molybdenum disulfide. This research may lead to much faster computers that take advantage of the natural magnetism of electrons, as opposed to just their charge. Spintronics is a new area of condensed matter physics that attempts to use the intrinsic magnetic moment of electrons, called "spins," to perform calculations. This would be a major advance over all existing electronics that rely solely on the electron charge. However, it is difficult to detect these spins, and there are many unknowns regarding materials that can support the transport of spin-polarized electrons.