QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT AND TELEPORTATION: IS TELEPORTATION REAL? I LAVEENAA

Could teleportation, something only possible in the realm of science fiction, ever become a reality? Physically speaking, there are three methods of teleportation: one where substance disappears and reappears instantaneously in another place (think apparition in Harry Potter), another where they are transferred particle by particle through a machine (like in Star Trek) and finally where information of the original substance is used to form an exact copy elsewhere. The latter is likely the only possible form of teleportation. Scientists have already made significant advancements with this.

This all stems from a theory called Quantum Entanglement (or Spooky Action At a Distance as Einstein called it.) Quantum Mechanics is a unit of Physics that explores the behaviour of very small substances. When we zoom into a scale of atoms and electrons, the natural laws of motion we are used to in the physical world ceases to exist; matter behaves very differently at a microscopic level. This phenomenon, first proposed by Erwin Schrodinger, describes the situation where two particles interact and remain connected by a process yet to be discovered. This means that any change to one particle will instantly determine the state of the connected particle. The entangled particles are like arch-enemies; the states of them are always opposite to each other. All of this information seems standard until you consider that these particles could be separated by billions of light years and the state of one will still simultaneously determine the state of its partner particle. This ultimately suggests that information could be transferred at a rate faster than the speed of light.

Quantum Entanglement in Teleportation

If we were to have two entangled particles and one was on the moon, the other on earth, we could teleport information from the earth to the moon using the quantum states of the particles. As simple as it sounds, there are many physical limitations to practically carrying this out. The theories of quantum mechanics are yet to be completely understood so the uncertainty of it all itself proposes a difficulty.

As of 2019, the first ever three-dimensional quantum teleportation was achieved by Austrian and Chinese scientists after the theory of it emerged in the 1990s. They successfully managed to teleport characteristics of a photon (a light particle) to a distant photon without them physically interacting.

Quantum computing

Quantum entanglement enables information to be transmitted instantaneously between places, in spite of distance. Hence, quantum teleportation could play a pivotal role in the world of technology. At present, when we want to send messages, they need to be encrypted and sent over WiFi. But if it were possible to communicate with quantum entanglement, information would be transferred rapidly without any physical interactions. However, this has not been achieved yet.

This could also be utilised in security technology: when quantum particles are observed, they become altered. Therefore, it could be detected if a third person had spied on two parties transferring information. Many large companies such as IBM and Google are investing in quantum computing as it sanctions for a very secure form of communication.

Now coming to the most important question of them all: Can humans be teleported?

As of now, the answer is no. Teleportation has thus far only been achieved with subatomic particles (these behave differently to larger matter that we can see) and whether this is possible with larger substances is still unknown. Theoretically, even if it was possible, there are ethical reasons why it may not be a good idea. For instance, in the process of teleportation, the original of the item being transported is destroyed and only a copy of it is made at the receiving end. However, with the countless mysteries of the universe still yet to be uncovered by humans, the possibilities of human teleportation cannot be ruled out completely.

Sources used:

https://futurism.com/what-quantum-entanglement-means-for-time-travel

https://www.sciencealert.com/if-you-thought-quantum-mechanics-was-weird-wait-til-you-check-out-entangled-time

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