I was talking to a friend of mine about the possibility of actually having teleportation technology, when she brought up an interesting question:
Actually transferring the molecules would take up far too much energy when you teleport, so it's far more likely that it takes a "icture" of your being and then reassembles the molecules in a different location, the problem there in is, that when you are disassembled at one end, it is for all intents and purposes suicide. After all at the other location a person would be made up of identical but completely new molecules.
I read about this in"The Physics of the Impossible", a physics book by Michio Kaku.
He says that it is possible to send simple objects and/or living creatures (by simple I mean less atoms than a human. the more atoms = the smaller chance of it being successful). The process would "scan" the entity to be teleported, and literally copy it to the destination. After the process is finished, the entity is both at the start point and at the destination (or in other words, theres a copy of the original at the start).
However, the energy necessary to power such a device is astronomical.
It really depends on how you scan/copy/teleport. If you teleport the actual matter piece by piece, or if you scan and create a copy with energy at the terminal station, then of course the power needed would be astronomical. But if you just transport the information, and create the copy out of ressources standing ready at the terminal station, wouldn't that mostly take care of the energy issue?
In theory yes, but where would you easily get the trillions of atoms required to make up the entity? Also, if you forget to scan one atom, or you are missing that atom at the receiving end, that would cause some problems.
Now that i think about it, how would you send your thoughts, memories, and who you are to the copy (if it were a human being teleported)?
My actual question was in the case that teleportation was possible, using it would be tantamount to suicide, and as Mage said, resurrection. Would you do it?
My actual question was in the case that teleportation was possible, using it would be tantamount to suicide, and as Mage said, resurrection. Would you do it?
Teleportation, in my mind, equates to transit without motion. To disassemble something into energy and beam it somewhere else, as has been suggested, wouldn't be teleportation. It would be a different mode of transit.
Similarly, I wouldn't consider the "make a new one somewhere else" version teleportation either. I mean, you don't even transport anything. Honestly, I've never understood why this was considered a form of teleportation.
As for being suicide, it doesn't matter. Your clone will behave exactly like you. For all intents and purposes, it will be you. If you "teleported" somewhere with an intention, your duplicate would appear with the exact same thoughts in his or her mind, so you wouldn't have to worry about that.
And it wouldn't matter to you, either. You'd be dead. A duplicate of you existing doesn't make you any less dead.
Basically it would be a Star Trek style replicator. Take a computer program with the pattern you want and the computer uses that digital copy and builds a physical copy for you out of raw materials. Though I think there is a still a power issue here.
I just remembered we have something like this already. 3D Printer
I had not read your post and was not referring to your question.
You didn't read the OP?
But if you just transport the information, and create the copy out of ressources standing ready at the terminal station, wouldn't that mostly take care of the energy issue?
That just seems to be an advanced form of manufacturing, one that could create entire cars rather than the process the assembly line uses. On the other hand, if you put a corpse in one location then scanned a human, would it reanimate human life? The necessary materials would be there after all.
Teleportation, in my mind, equates to transit without motion. To disassemble something into energy and beam it somewhere else, as has been suggested, wouldn't be teleportation. It would be a different mode of transit.
Even in fiction that's what teleportation is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transporter_%28Star_Trek%29 "A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern (a process called dematerialization), then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter (rematerialization)."
As for being suicide, it doesn't matter. Your clone will behave exactly like you. For all intents and purposes, it will be you. If you "teleported" somewhere with an intention, your duplicate would appear with the exact same thoughts in his or her mind, so you wouldn't have to worry about that.
Yes exactly, something I think that has been overlooked. From the clones perspective it will have instantly been transported from one location to another.
Another thing, if we were capable of scanning and replicating someones body to this detail imagine the medical applications involved?
I have a question about the turning into enrgy and back into matter. How do we know that once it's back into matter that the molecules will be in the correct positions. What if your stomach acid seperate into chlorne and hydrogen. What if the iron in you blood didn't dissolve. I'm not sure I understand how this process works exactly.
I have a question about the turning into enrgy and back into matter. How do we know that once it's back into matter that the molecules will be in the correct positions. What if your stomach acid seperate into chlorne and hydrogen. What if the iron in you blood didn't dissolve. I'm not sure I understand how this process works exactly.
The computer doing the reassembly "remembers" how your suppose to go back together and does it at a subatomic level.
Ah, sorry, I had momentarily forgotten. I tend to read the OP, then read the last few posts. I then add on my info according to where the debate is going.
On the other hand, if you put a corpse in one location then scanned a human, would it reanimate human life?
An interesting question. That would certainly bring up moral issues and possibly create zombies if a mistake were to occur.
Another thing, if we were capable of scanning and replicating someones body to this detail imagine the medical applications involved?
That would be very beneficial in that field. It would also stop illegal organ trafficking.
Another thing, if we were capable of scanning and replicating someones body to this detail imagine the medical applications involved?
You mean have a computer go through those cells and then remove the genetic anomalies, such as tumors, I guess you could also add foreign substances to the list.
I wonder would it work on mental diseases, changing the structure of the brain so it's returned to an optimal state?
Don't we need better technology for that. I don't even think we have air filters that work on a subatomic level. And if we could use this technology on subatomic levels there would be many other uses for it then just teleporting people.
