Hacking Matter

Programmable matter is probably not the next technological revolution nor even perhaps the one after that. But it's coming and when it does it will change our lives as much as any invention ever has. Imagine being able to program matter itself-to change it with the click of a cursor from hard to soft from paper to stone from fluorescent to super-reflective to invisible. Supported by organizations ranging from Levi Strauss and IBM to the defence Department solid-state physicists in renowned labouratories are working to make it a reality. In this dazzling investigation Wil McCarthy visits the labouratories and talks with the researchers who are developing this extraordinary technology describes how they are learning to control it and tells us where all this will lead. The possibilities are truly astonishing.>