A new 3-D printing technique creates solid objects using rays of light

On the Starship Enterprise, replicators were devices that were used "to dematerialize matter and then reconstitute it in another form," according to Startrek.com.

For Captain Picard's hungry crew, in particular, that usually meant nostalgically reconstituting meals on demand to appease a sudden craving.

Though we remain a long way away from being able to transmogrify matter into a chocolate sundae on command, a team of real-life researchers has created a 3-D printer that can create e...