Re: Physicist Discovers How to Teleport Energy - MIT Technology Review

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
> Date: February 6, 2010 5:30:57 PM EST
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Physicist Discovers How to Teleport Energy - MIT  
> Technology Review

> It's an odd meaning of the word "teleportation" at work here.    
> Essentially similar to the idea that a fax machine teleports  
> documents if sufficiently precise in its operation, or that a 3D  
> printer and 3D scanner teleport certain kinds of plastic objects  
> (given that the source is made of the same plastic as the  
> destination).
>
> Not to detract from the work at all.  And in fact, the problem in  
> defining "teleportation" relates to an underlying problem in  
> defining uniqueness.   Quantum physics doesn't have a mathematical  
> notion of "eq" - only "equals".   (we could discuss the actual  
> philosophical question of identity here, but it would get deep and  
> controversial - all electrons may turn out to be the same particle,  
> or conversely the instances of an electron that exist at different  
> times along its 4D trajectory may be all different - it does not  
> matter if there is no "eq".).   Quantum mechanics also does not have  
> a notion of "continuity" in the usual mathematical sense, since  
> particles are nothing more than probability distributions - so there  
> is no problem in considering the idea that a particle need not  
> traverse the space in between A and B to be at B, and quantum  
> tunneling is nothing more than that.  And of course, energy and mass  
> are equivalent in different frames - so moving energy is no  
> different than moving mass.
>
> So it's good formal math work, but to understand the meaning of the  
> headline one must understand that our understanding of physics is  
> such that the headline is not very surprising at all to someone who  
> accepts the formalisms of quantum physics.
>
> As a practical matter, the ability to move energy, mass, or whatever  
> in a "teleporting" fashion requires complex pre-arrangement, at  
> least to control same.   So there are pretty severe limits to its  
> utility.
>
> No teleportation "death ray" here.
>
>
>
>
> On 02/06/2010 04:07 PM, Dave Farber wrote:
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > > From: the terminal of geoff goodfellow <geoff () iconia com>
> > > Date: February 6, 2010 3:51:54 PM EST
> > > To: dave () farber net
> > > Subject: Physicist Discovers How to Teleport Energy - MIT  
> > > Technology Review
> > > Reply-To: geoff () iconia com
> >
> > > Physicist Discovers How to Teleport Energy
> > >
> > > First, they teleported photons, then atoms and ions. Now one  
> > > physicist has worked out how to do it with energy, a technique  
> > > that has profound implications for the future of physics. ...
> > >
> > > http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24759/
> > Archives        



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