Which leads us to:
Posted on 06/16/2004 1:54:18 PM PDT by vannrox
TED: 2:55 pm EDT June 16, 2004
UPDATED: 3:03 pm EDT June 16, 2004
In a step toward making ultra-powerful computers, scientists have transferred physical characteristics between atoms by using a phenomenon so bizarre that even Albert Einstein called it spooky.
Such "quantum teleportation" of characteristics had been demonstrated before between beams of light.
The work with atoms is "a landmark advance," H.J. Kimble of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., and S.J. van Enk of Bell Labs in Murray Hill, N.J., declare in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
Two teams of scientists report similar results in that issue. One group was led by David J. Wineland of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo., and the other by Rainer Blatt of the University of Innsbruck in Austria.
Teleportation between atoms could someday lie at the heart of powerful quantum computers, which are probably at least a decade away from development, Wineland said. Although his work moved information about atomic characteristics only a tiny fraction of an inch, that's in the ballpark for what would be needed inside a computer, he said.
His work involved transmitting characteristics between pairs of beryllium atoms, while the Austrian work used pairs of calcium atoms. Each atom's "quantum state," a complex combination of traits, was transmitted to its counterpart.
Key to the process was a phenomenon called entanglement, which Einstein derided as "spooky action at a distance" before experiments showed it was real.
Basically, researchers can use lab techniques to create a weird relationship between pairs of tiny particles. After that, the fate of one particle instantly affects the other; if one particle is made to take on a certain set of properties, the other immediately takes on identical or opposite properties, no matter how far away it is and without any apparent physical connection to the first particle.
Not so much for the transporter - but it might make for good “subspace communications”.
Sub-space communications? ;-)
But, that's what makes it
BIZARRO!!!
In reply to PatrickHenry, your pasted post contains a dreadful logical fallacy. I will post a detailed reply to that later.
* Wouldn't a faster than light transfer of information arrive before it was sent?
Which leads us to:
I meant to add that I will post a more detailed explanation to your question as well, as soon as I have the time.
Not precisely, if I understand it correctly (and I might not). It would appear to to someone observing the point of origin through light-waves, but to take my earlier example, while you might be observing the earth as it was 10 years ago from a point 10 light-years away, the earth isn't actually 10 years younger--that's just how long the light took to reach there. If you sent an ansible signal to earth, you wouldn't see an instant result--you'd have to wait ten years for the light waves carrying the result to reach you.
If I'm wrong, please someone explain how and why.
Hmmm . . . I'm not sure I buy that, but let's play with this. First, a question: From earth, you would appear to be slowing down, whereas from your vantage point, earth's activities (her clock) would appear to be accelerated, wouldn't they?
Are you quoting Einstein?
I'm Probably Overly Optimistic, But I BET we "Transport" "Inanimate Objects" within the Next 10 Years!!
"Human Technological Knowlege" ALWAYS seems to be AT LEAST 10 Years Behind Human Research!!
Invariably, we will encounter abberrations unforseen as we attempt to use this Method of "Transport," but we will "Find a way " to "Make This Work!"
If we can "Transport" ANYTHING using this Method--We'll Figure Out a Way to Do It!!
Doc
ping!
Dangit! We ALL coulda gone to wedding-moot!
No, each would observe that the other's clocks had slowed down. So it would always be, unless the ship decelerates, turns around, and accelerates toward earth again. Then you have a situation where the ship's clocks have been through some motions that earth had not experienced. This gets complex, and I'll rely on Physicist to go into detail (as I always do when I'm over my head). When the ship gets back to earth, it becomes obvious that it's only the ship's clocks that had slowed down.
Hmm, again. I see where you're going with this, but then we have to ask the question of why the twins' paradox happens, since the two clocks would simply sinc up again when our hypothetical ship flew back towards the earth and both parties observed the other's speeding up.
"Dangit! We ALL coulda gone to wedding-moot!"
ROFL!
The clocks never sync up, and neither sees the other's clock speeding up. Acceleration always slows a clock down. But when they are brought together, in the same frame of reference, the ship-board traveler and earth-bound fellow will both agree that it's the ship's clock that had slowed down.
Dunno. The only thing transported by this experiment was information.
No, I don't think so.
I know he had a cameo appearance in at least one episode...
but that was on the Holodeck.
I don't remember him ever being in the transporter room.
I see what you're saying, and it seems correct intuitively, but a lot has been written on the causality problems of instantaneous communication across large distances, so I would reckon there must be something to it.
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