Holographic movies: Light at the end of a tunnel

Indistinguishable from magic? HOLOGRAMS are a staple of science fiction. For many, the very word will conjure an image of Princess Leia from "Star Wars" (pictured), or of the holodeck of the starship Enterprise. Making real moving holograms, though, remains tricky. Every approach tried so far represents a trade-off between the quality of the image, its size and the cost of the kit that produces it--and making the first two acceptable means the third is exorbitant. That could change, though, if ...