MIT Developing Shrink-Ray. Steve Martin To Sue. (Carlos Sagan at Wonkette)

It’s not actually a shrink ray, as the article explains.

So, it’s not exactly DIRECT miniaturization of objects. The scientists who came up with the process call it “implosion fabrication” and it’s more like 3D photocopying with the shrink setting on your machine set to 1/1000. How does it work? I’m glad you asked!

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Essentially they picked a very absorbent material (the stuff in disposable diapers) to serve as a scaffold for the end product. They stick their stuff to it to make the object, then shrink the scaffold with a particular acid that shrinks the diaper material by a factor of ten in each dimension.