How to rearrange particles in matter?

[Racer]

The goal is to create a device that moves

each and every particle of a particular object to a new location instantly

at the same time thus transforming

this object into another.(for example a spoon into a cup by rearranging its molecules or one

chemical element into another by rearranging its subatomic particles(not by nuclear reacton).

What method can be used?

Maybe it can be done by using some sort of nanorobots or quantum teleportation? The process itself is possible since

it does not violate the laws of physics.

Any tips?

 

 

Note: don't start any philosophical discussions or anything like that.

[swansont]

The process itself is possible since it does not violate the laws of physics.

It doesn't? Instantaneous movement violates causality. Knowing position and location simultaneously might violate Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle.

[QuantumBullet]

Quantum teleportation doesn't re-arrange atoms; it involves scanning an atom or a particle, and then relaying the same quantum information to another atom or particle at a more distant location.

 

So it is really creating a replica of an atom, not teleporting it. And considering at this stage the best that has been managed is to quantum-teleport a photon over a distance of around 50km, I'd say it would be quite some time before we have the ability (if ever) to perform the same feat on something as large as a spoon.

[swansont]

Quantum teleportation doesn't re-arrange atoms; it involves scanning an atom or a particle, and then relaying the same quantum information to another atom or particle at a more distant location.

 

So it is really creating a replica of an atom, not teleporting it. And considering at this stage the best that has been managed is to quantum-teleport a photon over a distance of around 50km, I'd say it would be quite some time before we have the ability (if ever) to perform the same feat on something as large as a spoon.

 

It recreates a replica of the atom's state, not the atom itself. If you want to do teleportation with e.g. a sodium atom, you need a sodium atom at the target. It doesn't just pop into existence. Photons can be created easily, but not atoms.

[Daniel Foreman]

To control matter precisely there's one of two things you can do. The crudest would be to use one piece of matter to move another piece of matter. The easiest way to do this is to heat matter such as Iron up, and pour it into a mould, which lets face it is what 90% of industry does.

 

The alternative would be to somehow control the governing forces that control matter in the first place. The most obvious of these is Electromagnetism, however the trick is creating tiny electromagnetic fields small enough to move groups or individual bits of matter in the first place. There are other forces, such as small nuclear, strong nuclear, and gravity. You could possibly use the repulsive effects that some particles enact upon each other.

 

But this is all alot of work when you can just heat something up into a liquid and pour it into a mould

 

Now I know you are looking for a fancy sci-fi device. If you want something to "appear" to disappear and reappear then you're talking the idea of high dimensional states, That is the old wormhole theory. But it doesn't vanish and these higher dimensions are at best theoretical and at worst completely wrong.

 

Another method would be to somehow jam detection equipment, after all if you can't detect it then for all intents and purposes it will appear to vanish at one spot and reappear at the point detection resumes.

 

I would also like to point out, that if you do indeed "destroy an atom" and "recreate an atom" in another location, you are not moving anything. You are destroying the original and recreating a new one. If you used this on a human being it would be no better than Murdering the victim at the start and then creating a clone who thinks he's the original at a new location. Even if you broke it down to energy, and moved that energy to a new location then reformed that energy into a new person, who's to say the energy where his or her arse was, isn't being used to create a new brain? So again you've basically murdered the original configuration and recreated a butt brain'ed replicant..

Edited December 17, 2012 by Daniel Foreman