Updated Article July 2014: http://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-explains-quantum-computing-so-even-you-can-understand/
Updated Article May 2014: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/science/scientists-report-finding-reliable-way-to-teleport-data.html?_r=2
Updated Article * http://io9.com/physicists-say-energy-can-be-teleported-without-a-limi-1511624230
The basic idea of quantum teleportation is this:
1. Scan & disassemble an object (at the molecular/atomic level). Disassembly of the object is imperative here, otherwise it would only be a clone or copy.
2. Transport the disassembled "material" to another location (without traversing physical space). The disassembled object needs to be transported to another location. The object cannot be destroyed, that would mean the transported object is different than the original. The transportation method cannot use air, sound, light, or any other physical medium.
3. Reassemble the "material" at a target location, in the exact form it was broken down previously.
I had a fleeting through recently about 3D printers, and how they seemingly can create an object out of thin air, and I thought about teleportation, and whether the two would ever intersect. I realized that it's possible, but there are several giant problems currently keeping the two incompatible.
Today we have 3D printers, which are capable of performing the last step of teleportation: re-assembly. The reason we may not be able to utilize 3D printers for this experiment is because 3D printers are only able to create objects based on a blueprint or plan of some type. These printers can be used someday to manifest the object, however they will still need the core ability to "receive" the teleported item before printing it.
Will 3D printers have a role in teleportation at all?
Physicists at ETH Zurich performed teleportation successfully on a 7x7mm chip. They were able to do this without any type of re-assembler, the material simply appeared out of thin air. It may be that 3D printers have no role in teleportation at all, and will remain a neat piece of hardware with no potential contribution to the teleportation industry.
For example, there is a laboratory in North Carolina which is currently able to synthesize vaccines for a specific virus on-demand. A lab in California could report a virus at 1:00PM, and the lab in North Carolina could send them the digital "plans" (or blueprints) by 1:30PM. The lab in California could upload the digital data to the physical machine that is capable of synthesizing the vaccine, having it ready for injection by 2:00PM.
1st Teleportation violation: The vaccine received & "re-assembled" is not the same material that was scanned at its origin source, it was simply cloned at another location using plans from somewhere else.
2nd Teleportation violation: The digital information traverses the physical space between the origin and the destination, via physical communication cables. Once again, the goal is to send the object directly to its destination, invisibly, without traversing physical space. Disappearing, reappearing.
In any case of quantum teleportation, there is no reassembler involved at all, the item just...... appears. So what medium is used to transport the object? The answer lies in Quantum Entanglement, when two independent particles interact with each other in real-time, without physical connection, and with response times faster than the speed of light.
Once quantum teleportation is solidified and we can transport human beings consistently, without issue, there will be a few regulatory & practicality issues to contend with. First, we can't just have people teleporting whenever and wherever they want to. We would need a finite number of assigned teleport pads to receive and send people. What if the pad is taken? Problems arise.
What would the energy cost or monetary cost be to the user?
What if two people tried to teleport to the same place at the same time?
What if the teleporter crashed or lost power during transmission?
Would there be a system in place to control who can go where?
At the end of the day, no, I don't believe 3D printers will ever have a role in teleporting objects.
Sources:
Realization of Deterministic Quantum Teleportation with Sold-State Qubits
Why don't we have teleportation?
2nd Teleportation violation: The digital information traverses the physical space between the origin and the destination, via physical communication cables. Once again, the goal is to send the object directly to its destination, invisibly, without traversing physical space. Disappearing, reappearing.
In any case of quantum teleportation, there is no reassembler involved at all, the item just...... appears. So what medium is used to transport the object? The answer lies in Quantum Entanglement, when two independent particles interact with each other in real-time, without physical connection, and with response times faster than the speed of light.
Once quantum teleportation is solidified and we can transport human beings consistently, without issue, there will be a few regulatory & practicality issues to contend with. First, we can't just have people teleporting whenever and wherever they want to. We would need a finite number of assigned teleport pads to receive and send people. What if the pad is taken? Problems arise.
What would the energy cost or monetary cost be to the user?
What if two people tried to teleport to the same place at the same time?
What if the teleporter crashed or lost power during transmission?
Would there be a system in place to control who can go where?
At the end of the day, no, I don't believe 3D printers will ever have a role in teleporting objects.
Sources:
Realization of Deterministic Quantum Teleportation with Sold-State Qubits
Why don't we have teleportation?
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