The process of 3-D printing uses computer-created digital models to create real-world objects -- everything from simple toys or jewelry to more complex objects with moving parts.

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According to Reviel Netz, a classicist at Stanford University who is working on the palimpsest, the original uncorrected diagrams suggest that Archimedes was more concerned with the mathematical arguments his geometry gave rise to than with the real-world behaviour of the objects he wrote about.

ECONOMIST: The Archimedes palimpsest

At their core, these 3D printers are not unlike their 2D counterparts, offering a way to translate images on computer screens into real-world analogs -- only in this case they're objects you can hold in your hand.

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That opens up the possibility of putting virtual objects into the real world, letting you "pick up" a computer-generated 3D architectural model and spin it around in your hand, for instance, or gesture to control a virtual display appearing on an actual wall.

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