How do replicators work?
Replicators are based on transporter technology. A sample object is first “scanned” into the memory of a computer. Because even a simple object takes up an enormous amount of memory, the object is only resolved at a molecular level, not a quantum level. Further, the data must be compressed using a lossy algorithm, meaning that small, undetectable approximations are made to the data. This gives the computer a pattern to create a duplicate of the original. (TNG TM) Starships have a small supply of bulk material that is constantly recycled into needed materials and items. When a request is made at a replicator terminal, the wave-guide conduit system on the ship relays a small amount of bulk material to the replicator, which uses it to create the materials called for in the pattern. The object is then beamed in at the terminal. ….
