  We survey the expected polarization of the top produced in the decay of a
scalar top quark, $\tilde t \rightarrow {\tilde t}\chi_i^0, i =1-2$. The
phenomenology is quite interesting, since the expected polarization depends
both on the mixing in the stop and neutralino sectors and on the mass
differences between the stop and the neutralino. We find that a mixed stop
behaves almost like a right-handed stop due to the larger hypercharge that
enters the stop/top/gaugino coupling and that these polarisation effects
disappear, when $m_{\tilde t_1} \approx m_t+m_{\tilde\chi^0_i}$. After a
discussion on the expected top polarization from the decay of a scalar top
quark, we focus on the interplay of polarization and kinematics at the LHC. We
discuss different probes of the top polarization in terms of lab-frame
observables. We find that these observables faithfully reflect the polarization
of the parent top-quark, but also have a non-trivial dependence on the
kinematics of the stop production and decay process. In addition, we illustrate
the effect of top polarization on the energy and transverse momentum of the
decay lepton in the laboratory frame. Our results show that both spectra are
softened substantially in case of a negatively polarized top, particularly for
a large mass difference between the stop and the neutralino. Thus, the search
strategies, and the conclusions that can be drawn from them, depends not just
on the mass difference $m_{\tilde t} - m_{\tilde\chi_{i}^{0}}$ due to the usual
kinematic effects but also on the effects of top polarization on the decay
kinematics the extent of which depends in turn on the said mass difference.
