Holograms might appear to be limited to the realms of science fiction films like 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek' but actually, they're far easier to make than you might think.
YouTube user Mrwhosetheboss in fact has created this devilishly simple video which shows how using just a few everyday items you can turn your smartphone into your very own holographic projector.
It's an astonishingly neat trick and one that proves just how simple some holograms are to make. Using nothing more than a CD case, some tape and a knife you can turn your iPhone into a DIY piece of the future.
While these optical holograms are technically illusions, scientists are in fact working on ways to create the types of holograms we see in science fiction.
READ MORE:
Breakthroughs in laser technology have actually allowed researchers to create suspended images 'hang' in the air as though projected.
Other techniques involve using infrared cameras to and tiny projectors which essentially follow you as you move around the object creating the illusion that what you're looking at is a 3D object.
Then of course there's Microsoft HoloLens, a wearable 'holographic computer' which is capable of projecting virtual objects into the real world.
By looking through the lens HoloLens projects a virtual world over the top of what you see by projecting the images directly into the back of your eye.
It's a similar technique that's employed by fighter pilots as it essentially allows them to focus on different objects around them whilst having the virtual world constantly in focus.