In a solid, electrons behave differently than in a vacuum. In particular, their charge can break up into fractions of the elementary charge. Theoretical work shows how the electron's spin could help to observe fractional charges directly.
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Moore, J. How spin splits the electron. Nature Phys 4, 270–271 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys925
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys925
