This was heavily hyped for its ability to create a three-dimensional effect without the need of glasses or other paraphernalia.

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While current screens have a great gee-whiz feel, they are still a far cry from achieving the effect demanded of most three-dimensional researchers: a realistic, moving hologram like the one of Princess Leia projected from a lens inside R2D2 in Star Wars.

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Failure to use the latest three-dimensional modelling software meant nobody anticipated the effect of using lightweight aluminium wiring rather than copper, which is to make bends in the wiring looms bulkier.

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The interference effect, these optimists speculate, might be exploited to create holograms (that is, three-dimensional photographs) of actual matter, rather than mere images.

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