In Star Trek: Discovery, what technology lets a programmable-matter tool change into different objects?

In Star Trek: Discovery, programmable matter lets a tool change into different objects.

Programmable matter is a 32nd-century technology made from tiny units that can rearrange themselves into different shapes and functions. Starfleet officers use it for tools, equipment and interfaces that can be reconfigured rather than carried as many separate objects.

The technology reflects Discovery's far-future setting after the series moves beyond the 23rd century. Its flexibility is one reason 32nd-century Starfleet designs look very different from the physical controls seen on earlier Star Trek ships.

Programmable matter is not the same as a replicator. A replicator creates or assembles matter from stored patterns, while programmable matter changes the configuration of material already present. It is also distinct from the shapeshifting biology of a Changeling, because the Starfleet technology is an engineered material system.