From CNN: Apparently scientists have actually teleported a relatively large object.
The experiment involved for the first time a macroscopic atomic object containing thousands of billions of atoms. They also teleported the information a distance of half a meter but believe it can be extended further.
"Teleportation between two single atoms had been done two years ago by two teams, but this was done at a distance of a fraction of a millimeter," Polzik, of the Danish National Research Foundation Center for Quantum Optics, explained.
"Our method allows teleportation to be taken over longer distances because it involves light as the carrier of entanglement," he added.
The article goes on to point out that we're still a long way from Star Trek-style teleportation, but it does bring up my favorite Star Trek dilemma. If you are subjected to teleportation, your molecules are disassembled and reassembled somewhere else, right? Even if the newly created being has all your thoughts and memories, is it still you? Wasn't the original destroyed? From your perspective, haven't you died?
- Log in to post comments
As I understand it, the object was duplicated not teleported. If you create a doppleganger of Mr. A, Mr. A can remain very much alive.
Ah, but the question remains -- Can Mr. A visit Tahiti via teleportaion without being killed twice?
Over a period of many years, most of the molecules in Mr A's body will be replaced naturally. Does this mean that the original Mr A has died?
If a tree falls in the forest with no-one to hear it...
I think from the perspective of the one dissassembled, they die, but from the perspective of the recently assembled, they are instantly displaced.
My star trek transporter question is why there is any restriction on multiple copies? And why couldn't they assemble an in-place (or a nearby copy) while scanning for the remote assembly? Once you have the information, why can't you make a copy?
If I understand the process correctly, then I'd argue that no duplication takes place, but I may not understand this perfectly. I *think* it works something like this:
Particle A is in a particular quantum state that I wish to send
Particle B is the particle where I will recreate Particle A's state.
Before I begin the process I use quantum weirdness to entangle two photons. Let's call them x and y
I now interact x with A. This has three consequences:
First, I get classical information out of the interaction,
second, through the powers of quantum weirdness y is now carying quantum information and,
third, the quantum state of A is now destroyed.
I use the classical information to prepare B. Once B is prepared I have B and y interact. The result is that particle B now has particle A's original quantum state.
At no time did the same quantum state exist in two places at the same time.
"Over a period of many years, most of the molecules in Mr A's body will be replaced naturally. Does this mean that the original Mr A has died?"
In a standard blood donation, I can give 1/2 liter. If I donate 10 times in a year, I've given 5 liters, equal to the entire volume of blood in my body. I don't die.
Yet if all that blood is removed simultaneously, I die.
The question is, if I'm transported instantaneously, do I die? It's different from the gradual replacement of tissue in the body.
Pieces: I'm not much of a Star Trek junkie, I think the problem isn't so much a technological one as an ethical one. They have replicators, don't they? I think they just don't think it's ethical to make multiple copies of a person.
Peter: If I understand your response, I'm not sure it addresses the question about consciousness. How can a conscious identity be transported through space? I suppose the real problem is that we still don't completely understand consciousness.
A couple of things.
I forget which, but in one of the ST:tTNG episodes Barclay is "stuck" in mid transport and actually experiences the transportation. It is implied that people are conscious during the actually transport and aware of their odd surroundings. It's as if there's a "transport space" as if the person was shunted out of normal reality for the transport.
Of course this conflicts with Scotty not being aware of how much time had passed when he was stuck in a a transporter loop.
And there was another episode where they "healed" the Dr. (not Crusher) by using information from the transporter's buffer that had a copy of her from before she was infected.
There are two books, Farthest Star and Wall Around a Star by Frederik Pohl and Jack Wiliamson, where the premise is that duplicates of people are transported across the galaxy while the original stays behind. There are couple of scenes where the duplicate walks out of the transporter and says, "There must be a mistake, I was supposed to stay on Earth and some copy was supposed to travel!"
Dave,
You're right. I was commenting on 'duplication' not directly addressing identity or consciousness. Since no duplication occurs during the process of quantum teleportation we don't have to worry about the issues surrounding "being copied".
As far as "consciousness" goes, we can only speculate. A strict materialist would say that consciousness is purely a function of configuration so if their perspective is correct, then there are no problem to be addressed. A conscious person enters the teleporter and the same conscious person exits.
I think our mind balks at this idea because we have an innate idea of 'continuity'. I am the same "me" as I was 10 minutes ago because there is an unbroken chain of "me-ness" from that past to this present. However, when I imagine a person being teleported it looks as if that chain is broken.
Personally, I think that from the perspective of the teleported there would still be an unbroken chain-- the quantum states are identical so the teleported would experience no sense of having passed through time or space-- they would just suddenly find themselves somewhere else.
But I don't think that an outside observer necessarily has to believe that the chain of identity is broken. My perspective is that the "location" of the person is smeared out along non-classical channels for a period of time.
When I was applying to college a few years ago, one of the University of Chicago essay prompts dealt with precisely this question.
I'm really eager to hear more details about this teleportation, though. What exactly did they teleport? Can we see pictures??
I'm not worried. The fact is that we have a clear day to day analogy of losing consciousness, and then recreating it from unconscious matter patterns - falling asleep. If we can be unconcerned about dying everytime and becoming a new person whenever we have a nap, there seems to be little reason to worry about teleportation.
"is it still you? Wasn't the original destroyed? From your perspective, haven't you died?"
dunno, I think I'd just show my passport to the customs agent and get on with my holiday, anything to avoid the airport hassles ;)
Riker was copied due to a transporter incident. The copy was out of touch with the Federation for several years. He appears in ST:TNG, and later in ST:DS9. The copy eventually starts using his middle name. As far as i know, the same actor plays both Riker's. Are split screen and similar photography tricks ethical? I think so.