12 Pieces Of Sci-Fi Tech That We Wish Were Real

The preferred weapon of Jedi and Sith alike, the lightsaber is the dream weapon for every child and man-child that has seen Star Wars.

Don't even try to pretend that you've never brandished a long tube and made the "vwoom" noises, we've all done it and there's nothing to be ashamed of.

Okay, maybe the practical applications of the lightsaber are slightly less exciting that the epic battles for the fate of the galaxy, seeing as there aren't many of us now with power-hungry mortal enemies, but it could still come in handy. 

The "light-breadknife" featured in the latest Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film is one such application. A world in which perfectly golden toast can be achieved with all that mucking around with recalcitrant toasters is surely one we would all want to live in.

Amazingly, recent studies have brought us one step closer to making the lightsaber a reality. Scientists from Harvard and MIT have discovered a way to bond photons together in a way that could potentially be used to create a lightsaber in the future.

Whether or not this is possible in all our lifetimes remains to be seen, but it's definitely exciting.

Think we're wrong? Think we're right? Think we've missed something? Let us know in the comments.