Teleportation can be called an age-old dream of humanity. Imagine that you almost instantly get from one place to another … But teleportation of people is still only in the project, but objects … A team of German engineers led by Stefanie Müller from the Hasso Platner Institute has developed a technology for transferring inanimate objects through the Network.
To teleport an object, you must first destroy it
The machine scans the object that is placed in it and sends data about it to the place where it is required. There, the object is recreated using three-dimensional printing. The device was named Scotty in honor of the chief mechanic of the Starship Enterprise from the fantasy TV series Star Trek, where a similar teleportator operates.
True, the teleportation technology has a very significant drawback - in order to "teleport" an object, the machine must first destroy it. Suppose she cuts a plastic figurine in layers so that, having scanned each of them, she will get a layout in detail. The resulting model is digitized on a computer, and then the file is transferred over the network to another device, which, in turn, prints the item on a 3D printer.
All that is required from the user is to put the teleported object into the sending scanner, type in the final address and click the "move" option. Thus, for example, it is convenient to give each other gifts if you are too far apart.
So far, however, the development of teleportation is not yet very perfect and is rather a test sample. Thus, the "teleportable" object must be black in order to create a contrasting background necessary for the scanner to work.
In addition, some small details are “omitted” during scanning, and as a result, the copy is not identical to the original. True, the authors promise to modify the device so that it recreates models more accurately and in higher resolution.
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Teleportation technology is far from perfect
There is one more circumstance. As studies conducted by psychologists have shown, any copy, even if it is completely identical to the original thing, has less value for a person than the original.
Therefore, it is not a fact that such a teleportation technology will be in wide demand. Not to mention the fact that to recreate the copies will need the appropriate raw materials …
Although, in principle, 3D printing has good prospects. Last year, a team of young scientists from Tomsk patented a 3D pen that is capable of making objects right in the air. What distinguishes the 3D pen from other similar devices is that it uses cold ink rather than plastic, which is usual for 3D printers.
But they are only called ink, but in fact they are a polymer paste, which under the influence of an ultraviolet lamp built into the handle becomes solid in just a couple of seconds …
The 3D pen allows you to make, for example, inexpensive jewelry in the form of hanging ornaments; decorative items like fridge magnets; covers for phones, tablets, writing utensils and so on … By the way, a 3D pen can work on any surfaces to which a 3D drawing can be applied.
Recently, in the USA, it was possible to create prostheses on a 3D printer for a dog born with underdeveloped front legs. And specialists from Columbia University in this way reconstructed the knee meniscus for the human body. An implant frame was formed from a biodegradable material on the printer, which was subsequently implanted into the patient.
It is possible that 3D printing technologies will help solve the problem of supplying colonies on other planets, if they ever arise. Experts from the Lawrence National Laboratory in Berkeley (USA) believe that everything you need can be made on the spot.
IRINA SHLIONSKAYA