5 Types of Teleportation

[Whitestar]

Hello.

 

 

I'm an aspiring science fiction writer and the type of science I would like to write is "hard sci-fi". That is, I want to create fantastic technologies that obey the laws of physics. I'm just trying to decide if teleportation is one of those things. Let's examine the six possibilities: quantum teleportation, matter/energy conversion, extra dimensions, wormholes, hole teleportation and space warp teleportation.

 

 

A. Quantum teleportation - has already been accomplished by teleporting a photon's properties, however, not the actual photon itself. For more information, check out the following website:

 

http://www.aip.org/physnews/graphics/html/teleport.htm

 

 

It is the ability to take the state of a simple quantum system and move it from one place to another without physically moving the system. So in some sense you're transporting the information in the state and not physically transporting the state itself. This kind of teleportation can be seen as a form of photocopying. If this form of teleportation were to be used on humans, it would no doubt stir up some philosophical and ethical implications. We all think about the teleporters that we remember or see on "Star Trek." It's not like that at all.

 

 

The question is, are living objects are only the sum total of the properties of the particles from which they are constructed? In that case quantum teleporting the properties of the particles from one set of atoms to a new set of atoms should be enough to teleport living objects. According to quantum mechanics, this should be the case. The initial and final states of the atoms in the object are, in principle, totally indistinguishable and therefore identical.

 

 

Of course if you believe in a soul, and also believe that the soul does not reside or is not encoded in physical matter, then teleportation of this type will not work.

 

 

1) Are human beings the sum total of the properties of the particles from which they are constructed?

 

 

2) Could a person theorically survive the quantum teleportation process?

 

 

 

B. Matter/energy conversion - Einstein has stated in his equations that matter and energy are interconvertible. An experiment at Stanford University was accomplished at S.L.A.C. (short for Stanford Linear Accelerator Center). Michael Pidwirny, the guy who wrote it claimed that it might one day be a useful means of teleportation like in Star Trek. Here is a direct quote from him:

 

 

"In 1998 researchers at Stanford University's Linear Accelerator Center successfully converted energy into matter. This feat was accomplished by using lasers and incredibly strong electromagnetic fields to change ordinary light into matter. The results of this experiment may allow for the development of variety of technological gadgets. One such development could be matter/energy transporters or food replicators that are commonly seen in some of our favorite science fiction programs."

 

 

Here is the website:

 

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6a.html

 

 

Here are some links to SLAC's statements released to various publications concerning the experiment:

 

http://www.slac.stanford.edu/exp/e144/nytimes.html

 

 

http://www.slac.stanford.edu/exp/e144/science1202.html

 

 

Personally, I don't think that there will ever be a conventional use for converting energy into matter because of the amount of energy contained in one human being. Think about it: if one human can produce thousands of hiroshimas bombs, then you would need thousands of atom bombs worth of energy to create a turkey sandwich. That just doesn't seem practical to me. If that amount of energy were to be released when turning a man into energy, well let's just say there wouldn't be much left of anything for a few thousand miles! In any conversion of matter, some energy is inevitably lost. In addition, such conversions of particles to energy are called annihilations, that is, they are like explosions: the explosive material is completely destroyed and no memory of its original form remains.

 

 

But let's play with this thought experiment for now. The atoms that compose our bodies are replaced every (7 years?), I've heard (I don't pretend to know the exact figure, but it seems reasonable). If this is the case, then after 7 years, you are physically completely different than you were at the beginning of the 7 year period. Then, in introspect, I realize to myself that I have a continuity of experiences, at least, my stream of consciousness is not noticeably interrupted.

 

 

Now imagine for the sake of arugment that teleportation were to be accomplish by converting a person into energy and you had the technology to reverse the process. In addition, you send the information along with the energy.

 

 

The question is, would the person survive the procedure, or would the individual cease to exist and be replaced with a replica, who was literally born into existence once the energy was reconverted back into matter with the information? In my view, when your body is destroy, you die. End of story. What comes out of the teleporter is an exact copy, with all your memories etc, and no knowledge that it isn't you, but it isn't. No one would ever notice the problem, so it only affects you when it happens. Unless, if you believe in souls, there are "conservation of souls" problems to deal with - does the same soul follow the body around? While in an energy state, there is no consciousness, no heart to beat, hence the person who first underwent this form of teleportation has cease to exist and replaced with a replica.

 

 

3) What does everybody else thinks? (Note: I know this question sounds a bit philosophical but I'd be very interested in everyones' opinion anyway.)

 

 

In addition, there is another problem with the matter/energy conversion teleporter. The thing that always bothered me about this method of teleportation is that once a crew member is converted into energy, that energy is something akin to plasma. Meaning that that energy has to go somewhere. And the only way to get rid of it is to blast a hole in the ceiling for all the energy to escape before it destroys everyone on the ship! When Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry created the transporter, he did so because he couldn't afford on his television budget to land a huge starship or shuttlecraft on a planet every week. So, the transporter was born. In addition, he also invented Subspace, where once the crew member is converted into energy, it is sent through subspace and exits at it's appointed destination and the process is reversed.

 

 

4) Any thoughts?

 

 

C. Extra dimensions - Teleportation may also be theoretically possible by means of traveling through extra dimensions.

 

 

5) The question is, if dimensions actually exist, where can we go about finding them?

 

 

D. Wormholes - This form of teleportation seems somewhat more plausible because until quantum teleportation, there is no need to disassemble a person at the atomic level. The individual would travel within a very brief time and remain fully intact.

 

 

E. Hole Teleportation - Now I have an idea for teleportation. I call it hole teleportation. Atoms are mostly empty space, right? What makes a wall solid is not the existence of the particles but of the electric fields between the particles. For example, my hand is stopped from going through my desk when I slam it down primarily because of the electric repulsion felt by the electrons in the atoms in my hand due to the presence of the electrons in the atoms of the desk and not because of the lack of available space for the electrons to move through. Hence, the way to accomplish teleportation is to overcome the electric forces between atoms.

 

 

Let's say a crew member wishes to teleport from the ship to his house. The teleport system first has to send a particle scanner that can penetrate the ceiling of his house without punching a hole in it. Think of it like infrared vision or something similar. Next, a beam of light peers through the floor of the ship (as well as the ceiling of the teleportee's house) by overcoming the bonds between the atoms themselves. A secondary beam envelops the teleportee. This secondary beam protects the teleportee by preventing his electrical bonds from breaking apart, unlike the floor on the ship and the ceiling of his house.

 

 

The teleportee is then send through this beam and enters his house with no problems. Finally, the beam deactivates and the electric charges that hold the ceiling, as well as the floor of the ship reattaches itself. I would like to stress that the secondary beam operates by overcoming the electric forces that hold the atoms together, but not so much that the matter of the floor on the ship and the ceiling in the house collapses, just enough to permit entry and exit to and from the ship/planet.

 

 

F. Space Warp Teleportation - Here is my other theory on teleportation. Picture this: a crew member steps onto the teleporter pad and the space around him or her begins to get distorted. The teleporter folds space which in turn allows the teleportee to teleport from the ship to the inside of a building without punching a hole in it.

 

 

6) Based on what I listed here, which form or type of teleportation seems to be the most plausible for humans? Quantum teleportation, matter/energy conversion, extra dimensions, wormholes, hole teleportation or space warp teleportation?

 

Whitestar

[Tesseract]

Id say space warp teleportation seems plausible.But so does hole teleportation.The others seems to futuristic and have to many problems.

[[Tycho?]]

I'd say go for the quantum one, or the energy conversion one. You know about the whole human being=a fuckload of energy thing, which is really the main problem behind it. Quantum stuff possible on small scale, larger scale still a question, but its the future, so its fine.

 

Your hole teleportation was a neat idea, not so much how you explained it would be done with the beam and such, but just pointing out the amount of space between atoms, so by getting around the charges, you'd be able to move through (some) forms of matter. If you use this one, think it out some more and do some more research on it, intruiging idea, needs a bit of tweaking though I think.

[Tesseract]

Imagine how difficult it would be to map out the position of every atom in the human body and photocopy it.

[[Tycho?]]

How far in the future is this supposed to be?

[Tesseract]

10 000-200 000 years.

[Dave]

Imagine how difficult it would be to map out the position of every atom in the human body and photocopy it.

 

Not only extremely difficult, but impossible due to the uncertainty principle.

[x__heavenly__x]

Well the hole idea is possible but maybe in say...future . Its closely related to Pure Energy Theory.

[Tesseract]

Not only extremely difficult, but impossible due to the uncertainty principle.

In a show I saw about telepotation recently, they were tryng to teleport a single atom, and havent been able to keep it "locked on".

[aman]

There seems to be a lot of military money and evidence for remote viewing which goes into psuedoscience but this points towards a teleportation of consciousness.

This brings me to the idea that it may be easier to teleport our consciousness than the physical form. As our understanding of the brain and some repeatable experience anomalies grows we might be able to harness their power. Before that we might be able to transmit a mind into an electronic receptical sent into space. Kinda like teleporting.

Just aman

[Tesseract]

Whitestar you also posted on this site.

 

http://www.flipcode.com/cgi-bin/msg.cgi?showThread=00002613&forum=randombits&id=-1

 

but theyre different.