Do you know what an exciton is? Excitons are formed by linking a negatively-charged electron with a positively-charged "hole". An exciton decays when the electron and hole combine, emitting a flash of light in the process. According to Leonid Butov, a UCSD professor of physics, "This direct coupling of excitons to photons bridges a gap between computing and communications." Thanks to IT News in Australia for a preview of the story that will get published in the journal Science.