The Chinese have proposed teleportation of a bacteria

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Nicky665
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Bacteria Teleportation
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the feasibility of teleporting a microorganism, specifically a bacterium, as proposed by a Chinese research article. Participants explore the implications of quantum teleportation, its principles, and the challenges associated with applying these concepts to living organisms.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether teleporting a microorganism is physically plausible, citing that quantum teleportation has only been demonstrated with atoms.
  • Others clarify that quantum teleportation involves the transfer of quantum states rather than the physical movement of matter, suggesting the thread's title may be misleading.
  • A participant points out that the proposal does not involve teleporting the bacterium itself but rather its center-of-mass oscillation and entangling it with an internal state, raising concerns about the definition of a microorganism in this context.
  • There is a discussion about the necessity for identical objects in quantum teleportation, with questions about how two identical bacteria could be obtained.
  • Some participants challenge the understanding of what "identical" means in the context of quantum teleportation and the implications of the no-cloning theorem, suggesting that cloning or genetic manipulation might provide a solution.
  • Clarifications are made regarding the nature of quantum states and the distinction between transferring a state and copying it, emphasizing that the original state changes post-teleportation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the feasibility and implications of teleporting microorganisms, with no consensus reached on the validity of the proposed method or the definitions involved in quantum teleportation.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include unresolved definitions of "identical" in quantum mechanics, the applicability of the no-cloning theorem, and the specific requirements for the proposed teleportation scheme.

Nicky665
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Is there any physical reason why the teleportation of a microorganism would be absolute fantasy ?

The wikipedia page for quantum teleportation says nothing bigger than an atom has been teleported.

"Here we propose a straightforward method to create quantum superposition states of a living microorganism by putting a small cryopreserved bacterium on top of an electromechanical oscillator"

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095927316302171

http://phys.org/news/2016-01-physicists-scheme-teleport-memory.html
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Quantum teleportation does not involve moving matter from "here" to "there". Typically it involves shifting of a quantum state in some manner, and that could include it traversing a distance. So I would say the title of this thread is highly misleading. The article does not claim the bacteria itself is being teleported anywhere.

So yes, teleporting a microorganism would be absolute fantasy (given the laws of physics).
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Nicky665, bhobba, Doc Al and 1 other person
First, they have not done it, but proposed it could be done. But there is nothing special in their proposal, apart from "it has been done with a, so we could do it with b". (Substitute "15-μm-diameter aluminum membrane" for a and "microorganism" for b.)

Second, what they want to teleport is the center-of-mass oscillation. They propose also entangling it first with an internal state of a microorganism. More specifically, they mention the electron spin in a molecule of glycine. How can you consider that glycine is a "microorganism"? Beats me.

Third, how could you do it with a bacteria? For the scheme to work, the two objects have to be identical. How could you get two identical bacteria?
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Nicky665, bhobba, Doc Al and 3 others
Well of course I know its not about moving matter from here to there. What does identical mean ? Whats the point of Quantum teleportation if at the other end the object is already identical in all aspects including electron state and everything? Doesnt no cloning theorem forbid that? Wouldnt it suffice to get a simillar bacteria with the help of cloning/genetic manipulation?
 
Nicky665 said:
Whats the point of Quantum teleportation if at the other end the object is already identical in all aspects including electron state and everything??

That isn't correct. I suggest reading 'Sneaking a Look at God's Cards' by GianCarlo Ghirardi to get a better understanding of QM (and in particular the chapter on teleportation).
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Nicky665
Nicky665 said:
What does identical mean ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identical_particles

Nicky665 said:
Whats the point of Quantum teleportation if at the other end the object is already identical in all aspects including electron state and everything?
They are identical, but are not in the sames state initially. The idea is to transfer the state of system A to that of system B.

Nicky665 said:
Doesnt no cloning theorem forbid that?
No, because the state is not copied, but transferred. After teleportation, the state of system A has changed.
Nicky665 said:
Wouldnt it suffice to get a simillar bacteria with the help of cloning/genetic manipulation?
It wouldn't work with similar bacteria because their quantum states would belong to different Hilbert spaces. It would make no sense to talk about quantum teleportation of a state in that case.
 

Similar threads

High School Is this equal to teleporting information?
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
High School Preon quark models excluded by LHC
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K