The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Last year, the Air Force spent $25,000 on a report, titled "Teleportation Physics Study," to examine possible ways to teleport humans and objects through space."
Teleportation on a micro scale is not a crazy notion:
In recent years, many physicists have become excited about a phenomenon called "quantum teleportation," which works only with infinitesimally tiny particles. It might lead to new ways of transmitting cryptographically secure messages, some speculate, but not human beings for a long time to come, if ever.
Nor is twenty-five grand all that much to spend on a speculative report, if only to dismiss an idea as implausible. But one has to hope that a lot more money is being spent on the potential beamability of little bitty things than great big ones.
Excellent. Maybe we could teleport some of JWs tenderloin and a few cowboy cupcakes over here tonight.
Posted by: Ana | August 29, 2005 at 04:38 PM
I can't speak for Scott's cupcakes, but if you want MY tenderloin, the rest of me comes with The Package, girl.
Posted by: JWebb | August 29, 2005 at 04:42 PM
My understanding is they have had initial success at 'teleporting' individual subatomic particles. How they do it or measure that it has occured, I don't know. Pretty cool if so.
Posted by: prairie biker | August 29, 2005 at 04:54 PM
Yeah, that's the quantum teleportation thing they were talking about.I've read about it before and probably should have blogged it. I might research it again just because it is extremely cool.
Posted by: gail | August 29, 2005 at 05:19 PM
If I remember correctly, what they can teleport so far is the information state from one particle to another particle, not a physical particle. I could be wrong though.
Posted by: SeanH | August 29, 2005 at 05:24 PM
In recent years, many physicists have become excited about a phenomenon called "quantum teleportation," which works only with infinitesimally tiny particles.
So then, they ought to be able to teleport Clinton's dick, right?
Posted by: CraigC | August 29, 2005 at 07:29 PM