(Phys.org)—A large team of researchers with members from China, the U.K., the U.S. and Japan has developed a material that can switch between multiple phases with distinct electronic, optical and magnetic properties. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the team describes how they made their material, how it can be caused to switch properties and possible uses for it. Shriram Ramanathan, with Purdue University offers a News & Views piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue and adds some additional background on the search for functional materials.