CONDENSED-MATTER PHYSICSIn the 4 June issue of Physical Review Letters , a team of physicists and materials scientists reports turning hydrides of the rare earth elements yttrium and lanthanum into shiny conductors by flashing them with ultraviolet (UV) light. The UV-triggered switchable mirrors are intriguing both in their basic physics and for possible applications to optoelectronics, say researchers.
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David Voß (2001) studied this question.