One remarkable property is that the effective mass can become negative, when the band curves downwards away from a maximum. As a result of the negative mass, the electrons respond to electric and magnetic forces by gaining velocity in the opposite direction compared to normal; even though these electrons have negative charge, they move in trajectories as if they had positive charge (and positive mass). This explains the existence of valence-band holes, the positive-charge, positive-mass quasiparticles that can be found in semiconductors.