Beam me up, Scotty: Star Trek's vision becomes reality in TELEPORTATION breakthrough 

Researchers in Germany have come up with a way to teleport information - but it's not quite the same as science fiction writers imagined

Star Trek transporter

Star Trek fans rejoice! Researchers in Germany claim to have discovered a way to transport information from one place to another using "teleportation".
Dr Alexander Szameit and Dr Marco Ornigotti from the Institute of Applied Physics at the University of Jena in Germany are both self-confessed Trekkies.
"Many of the ideas from Star Trek that back then appeared to be revolutionary have become reality," said Szameit.
"Doors that open automatically, video telephony or flip phones – all things we have first seen on the starship USS Enterprise."

Dr Alexander Szameit and Dr Marco Ornigotti from University of Jena with models of the USS Enterprise

Armed with their love of Star Trek and their knowledge of quantum mechanics, the researchers have devised a way to transmit information from one location to another instantly, using a special form of laser beam.

Dr Szameit said that, while it may not be possible to teleport actual solid particles, it is possible to their teleport their properties.

Elementary particles such as electrons and light particles exist in a "spatially delocalised state," which means it is possible for them to be in different places at the same time.
"Within such a system spread across multiple locations, it is possible to transmit information from one location to another without any loss of time," Szameit said.
This process is called quantum teleportation, and has been known about for several years. However, this is the first time it has been demonstrated outside the world of quantum particles.

Spock and Captain Kirk aboard the USS Enterprise

The researchers said they performed teleportation by encoding some information in a particular polarisation direction and transmitting it to the shape of a laser beam.

"Just like it did at the starship USS Enterprise, the information is transmitted fully and instantly, without any loss of time," said Szameit.
"This makes this kind of information transmission a highly interesting option in telecommunication for instance."