Teleportaation

Teleportaation, often spelled teleportation, is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one location to another without traversing the intervening space. The term is commonly used in science fiction, but in scientific contexts the preferred spelling is teleportation, while teleportaation may appear as a misspelling or fictional variant.

In physics, the closest real phenomenon is quantum teleportation, demonstrated experimentally for photons and other quantum systems. It involves creating a shared entangled state between sender and receiver, performing a joint measurement on the source particle, and transmitting the result through a classical channel. The outcome reconstructs the original quantum state on the distant system. No physical object is transmitted, and the no-cloning theorem prevents copying the unknown state.

Fiction often portrays teleportation as instantaneous material transfer of objects or people. These depictions explore themes of identity, continuity, and ethics, and differ from the constraints of real quantum teleportation.

Practical challenges include scaling to macroscopic objects, preserving coherence, energy costs, and ensuring safety. If achievable for larger systems, teleportation could impact computing, secure communication, and transportation; however, it remains speculative.

See also: Quantum teleportation, Entanglement, No-cloning theorem, Teleportation in fiction.