Scientists "Teleport" Quantum Information One Meter

the4thdimension writes "While we may not be beaming up to the Enterprise anytime soon, a team of scientists from the University of Maryland and the University of Michigan have managed to teleport information between two atoms up to a meter apart. Until this point, only very tiny distances were able to be traveled. However, using a complicated system of photons, ions, lasers, and electromagnetics, scientists have managed to 'teleport' information contained on one atom to another atom that is in a separate sealed container. This can lead to a wide range of developments in computing and communications." Update: 01/29 22:29 GMT by T : Sorry, it's a dupe, but today's article in Time is better reading than the abstract anyhow.

Comments

Discussed A Week Ago

[eldavojohn]

I think we discussed this a week ago.

Re:Discussed A Week Ago

[Dyinobal]

Yes it teleported 1 week through space and time. Last week you read about the attempt, this week you read about the sucess.

Re:Discussed A Week Ago

[Architect_sasyr]

up scotty is the last place I'd want to be beamed.

Re:Discussed A Week Ago

[asliarun]

<bofh> up scotty is the last place I'd want to be beamed.

Yeah, you don't want to get kilt.

Is this really new?

[Hogwash McFly]

I watched a BBC documentary 'Visions of the Future' online a couple of days ago, and a team in Vienna had already teleported information between photons years ago. See here, about 50 minutes in. (I recommend watching all three programmes, it's an interesting documentary). The professor in the video states that the record stands at 600 metres. I'm no physicist, so could someone explain what is so different about what has been achieved in the article? Is the difference between teleporting information between photons and atoms so distinct?

Re:Is this really new?

[Cyberax]

It's easy to teleport photons - it's the basis of quantum cryptography for which we now even have commercial applications. I believe current record is about 1000km.

However, in this experiment scientists have teleported the state of an _atom_ using photons as intermediary quantum information carriers.

Re:Insert Quantam Leap joke here -

[$RANDOMLUSER]

Ziggy says there's a 99.9999% chance you got that reference wrong.

First teleported comment

[Timesprout]

I posted it in the origial thread and it appears in the dupe thread.

BTW I am patenting 'Teleposting' as I like to call it.

The funny thing

[Anonymous Coward]

...is for the whole week in between the experiment simultaneously existed as both a success and a failure.

Re:What does this tell us?

[nine-times]

Yeah, it seems like every so often, there's another story in the media that "teleportation has been achieved," or "we can make things invisible," or "scientists have made light go faster than light." They go on to explain all the great things we could do if we could teleport things, go faster than light, and make things invisible.

Then, down near the bottom somewhere, they finally explain that no, we're not talking about real teleportation, but rather quantum entanglement that can't really be used for communication. We're not talking about real faster-than-light travel, but making a light wave that sort of looks like it's going faster than light but isn't. We're talking about something that might be useful for stealth airplanes, making them invisible to radar, and not real invisibility. Stuff like that.

And then they tag some throw-away line at the end like, "But who knows, maybe we'll be able to teleport to the moon next year!"

I hate journalists.

Re:Star Trek Shenanigans

[RiotingPacifist]

For the last time quantum teleportation isn't star trek style, its far more impressive. It's transferring information you don't even know across space.

Re:not news

[drpimp]

I think someone needs to read the definitions of Teleporting and Transmitting a little closer.