"Tea. Earl Grey. Hot."

Star Trek food replicators becoming a reality with 3D printers.

I thought that this was a thread about tea.

edited 22nd May '13 8:04:27 AM by Rosvo1

We'll be able to print tea damnit!

I also thought this was a thread about tea. I am disappoint.

Earl Grey is my favourite tea.

Printing food likely isn't going to be possible easily because of the complex protein structures and cell frameworks involved in anything organic (i.e. pretty much everything edible).

Edit: Actually read the article. That seems somewhat plausible, if a bit pointless. Freeze-dried food would work just as well.

edited 22nd May '13 8:08:58 AM by JimmyTMalice

Will it taste good?

^ I don't know. We haven't yet printed tea but we're gonna find out.

The real question, I've found, more often than not, is not whether something can be invented, but rather whether it can be implemented.

Maybe we CAN make 3D printers that literally print food, but the cost of mass-producing them might turn out to be too high, or the power needs are too much for the common consumer, et cetera.

I think there's probably a lot of mad sci-fi stuff that we could have RIGHT NOW if it weren't for legal, financial, or ethical complications.

edited 22nd May '13 9:08:59 AM by Alma

You have much to learn...

^^ 3D printing tech is only getting cheaper and more capable as time passes. Hell, were getting stuff that can do simple gadgets and plastic bits for only 1500 bucks.

Within 5 years I expect to see 3D printers in the hobby shop for relatively cheap. And I expect a printer that can make a bloody good cake!

edited 22nd May '13 9:23:31 AM by MajorTom

Baby steps guys. Protein resequencers are up next; followed by actually replicated scrambled eggs and sausage.

The future is gonna be awesome!

In the near future, we are going to be eating flavored paper. Yay.

I'll eat resequenced shit if it means getting closer to the science fiction future I always wanted.

Well then Alma my dear, make it so.

edited 22nd May '13 9:52:43 AM by TheStarshipMaxima

Well, then... Need a taste tester, NASA?

Good luck making anything as complicated as an egg with a matter replicator, though. You'd have to form the whole thing instantly, or it would collapse in on itself and become scrambled.

Inb4 meteor

I've read too much Douglas Adams to trust replicator "tea".

Will you have to fuel the printer with human flesh?

The nicest thing I can think to say about this project is that it's a waste of time and unfeasible for mass production.

Said someone about pretty much every major innovation in history.

But this thing won't actually solve any problems.

World hunger? For a good long while, this printer will not be affordable by anyone who isn't already wealthy.

Convenience for people who can afford it? They still have to go out and buy all of those fancy powders and materials. It is actually LESS convenient than buying normal food.

I'm rather afraid it'll wind up printing a concoction that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.

^^ Sure, the shopping stage is still there, but the cooking stage would be pretty much eliminated. For example, getting up early on a Monday becomes much easier if you can just tell the printer to make scrambled eggs or french toast (or whatever) without you having to go to all the trouble of messing around with pans.

Making society lazier one baby step at a time.

It's how the future works.