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Entering a portal from one place and then exiting to another, aka teleportation, is one of the most popular science fiction tropes of all time. But, what if we tell you that scientists are already working on making it a reality, beginning with the teleportation of information via quantum particles.
From Photons to People: The Path of Quantum Teleportation
Quantum teleportation has become a reality, at least for quantum information. Recent experiments done at Northwestern University have shown the world that the beginning of a long journey towards teleportation, the movement of matter from one place to another, instantly, has started with the use of a single photon particle.
In this case, however, the scientists who did the studies did not teleported a particle, but instead its quantum state. Using a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, they teleported the state of one particle to another from a completely different location. They used fiber optic cables that also carry the world’s internet data, proving it could coexist with it.
This is because in quantum entanglement, when two particles are entangled, the state of one of them instantly influences the other, even at different locations. In simple terms, quantum entanglement in science means that a connection between two or more particles has been established, and that they will share the same fate and state, despite the distance.
This is also the reason why scientists tried to use this connection to test out quantum teleportation, by sending the information of a particle to the other.
Read more: US National Science Foundation
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The Human Challenge: Complexity and Ethical Considerations
If you are already imagining humans being teleported from one location to the other, we are still ages away from it; probably centuries more will be needed. This is because what the scientists have done in their experiments is teleporting the quantum state of a particle, but humans are made of approximately 10^28 atoms, and each of them their own quantum state.
So, to make science fiction a reality, they would need to create a machine that would capture, transmit, and reconstruct the vast information coming from one single human body. Until then, it remains a fiction.
There is also the presence of the no-cloning theorem in quantum mechanics, which states that no exact copy of any unknown quantum state can be recreated perfectly. This implies that during this process, the scientists have tested, the original body would have to be destroyed in order to send its information to a different location. In other words, we have not fully understood the mechanics of quantum travel yet.
Recent Breakthroughs: A Step Closer to the Quantum Future
Despite these challenges, the researchers at Northwestern University have made significant strides as their experiment is the first step towards understanding this problems more or coming up with another solution to make teleportation a reality.
In another development, scientists at the University of Turku and the University of Science and Technology of China have discovered that a certain type of noise could help improve the process of quantum teleportation of information.
Previously, scientists all thought that noises are a distraction and obstacles for the information to reach the right location intact, but this new study proves that idea wrong.
Read more: Phys.org
Author's Final Thoughts
While teleportation of humans remains a goal for the future and fiction today, the rapid advancements of our knowledge and technology in the quantum field give us reasons to believe that we can make it a reality.
As new research emerges, humanity might face another evolutionary stage for our civilization, especially in the realm of communication and transportation, should quantum teleportation be achieved.
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