Quantum Teleportation

Attaching the word "quantum" to a phrase or to another word tends to leave listeners puzzled.  Those who analyze the concepts that contemporary scientists describe using such phrases, however, will find that quantum physics is not necessarily as complicated or esoteric as general perception might suggest.  One such example of this is quantum teleportation, which, as the name implies, involves a transference of something from one place to another, although it is not a whole object that is transferred.

Quantum teleportation is not identical to the "conventional" concept of teleportation popularized by entertainment.  It is the latter that is often referred to when people discuss teleportation: the latter entails the disappearance of an object from one location in space and its reappearance in another area, while the former simply involves the transfer of a quantum state from one particle to another.  The names are similar, but the phenomena are ultimately quite distinct.

Thus, quantum teleportation is not the actual teleportation of a particle, but is a "teleportation" of some aspect of a particle's behavior to a separate particle.  The first particle remains exactly where it was, but a second particle takes on a behavioral characteristic (like rotation) as that characteristic leaves the first one.  Distance is not relevant--for example, a particle could be made to rotate from miles away, although it has neither switched locations nor been physically touched.

The connectedness of two particles can be referred to as quantum entanglement.  Particles are entangled on a quantum (subatomic) level when the quantum state of one affects or can affect the other, regardless of distance, such as in the aforementioned example.  Perhaps to the surprise of some, the most practical and valuable application of this is currently communication: two people could hypothetically communicate across vast distances by using quantum teleportation.

Of course, quantum communication is far from a commonplace occurrence, but it is certainly not impossible.  Nevertheless, it could be advantageous for members of the public to educate themselves about quantum physics in anticipation of a communicative revolution or so that they will not be adrift in confusion if the physics of the subatomic world continue to rise in popularity.  The concepts of quantum entanglement and teleportation, after all, are not as difficult to comprehend as some people (both scientists and laypeople) seem to think.