Teleportation. Imagine instantly transporting to a remote location like moving from your home to the office with no commute whatsoever. It’s technology you always see incorporated in sci-fi media, whether in movies, shows, or books. And it’s pretty darn awesome. That’s exactly why it features so prominently. But is it real? The question has lingered for decades, maybe even longer, and we may finally have an answer. There is one caveat, however. It turns out that teleportation is possible through a process called quantum entanglement, but you can only send information — not people or objects — as surmised by a recent study. It’s a bummer people can’t teleport, but quantum entanglement might explain a few additional things, like how the future can influence the past.
The net positive is that nobody thought any kind of teleportation was possible, but it may yet be so with the only limitation being the speed of light; which to humans, by the way, is near instant. To clarify, scientists believe they can use quantum teleportation to send information any distance instantly without adopting or developing new technologies. Instead, they can use existing networks and solutions via optical communications, anything that uses light to transmit information.
That’s not surprising since scientists previously figured out how to manipulate quantum light. Fiber optics are an excellent example of optical communication in action. Of course, quantum entanglement and quantum teleportation are two distinct concepts, though related, both of which fall under quantum physics. Understanding the difference is key to grasping how it all works.
Quantum entanglement versus quantum teleportation
Quantum entanglement describes when particles become linked via their quantum states, one particle always affecting the other. The linked state changes can happen at any time, including when those particles are separated by a great distance. This is compared to quantum teleportation, which is when quantum states — think being on or off — are moved from one location to another without actually moving the physical particles. Quantum particles that are entangled also interact instantaneously. They transfer from one place to another with the original state being destroyed, while the transported state is essentially a clone or copy at the new destination.
Both also relate to modern quantum computing, where algorithms are deployed using quantum circuits or gates, called “qubits.” Qubits are the basic unit for arranging those gates. When a gate or qubit is on or off, or contains any variety of stored information, that is considered a current state. Two linked qubits, for example, one on and the other off, engaged to swap arrangements, helps to describe entanglement. When one is enabled, the other disabled, or vice versa.
Meanwhile, taking the information contained in the qubit and transporting it to an entirely new qubit is teleportation. But ultimately, that link or connection happens regardless of how far apart the particles are, and they don’t need to physically travel to one another to exchange the information. If you’re not well-versed in quantum mechanics, it sure can make your head spin. It also helps explain why quantum computers are so powerful that they can break existing encryption algorithms in mere hours. Two quantum machines can transfer data between qubits instantly.
What does this mean in simple terms?
At its simplest, it means that we can devise a way to transmit digital information impossible distances near instantly, or at the speed of light. Don’t we already do this with fiber optics? Kind of, but not really. The information still takes time to travel and can be affected by network interference and traffic congestion. In the Northwestern study, the team set up an 18.6 mile long fiber optic cable and sent both regular internet traffic and quantum information through the channel. Despite how much information was being sent simultaneously, the quantum information made it instantly to the receiving end and with perfect accuracy.
Arguably, the more impressive part is that we don’t need new infrastructure to take advantage of quantum teleportation. It can be done with existing technologies, which means once they optimize the necessary process, we shouldn’t have to wait around for telecommunications providers to dig up fiber optic cables and install new ones to make it all work. That will make a lot of people happy, because installing new infrastructure means a lot of beautiful yards destroyed to lay down new wire. Dads everywhere might revolt. You could argue that faster internet and angry Dads are part of a quantum entanglement.