Teleporting worlds is something only seen through the lens of science fiction. For example, many Star Trek fans can recall the common catchphrase "Beam me up" which was used on the show as command for teleportation. But, even though it seems “out of this world” teleportation is actually possible—just not through the use of humans.
Teleportation can occur through the subatomic world of quantum mechanics. However, in the quantum world teleportation means the transportation of data as opposed to matter. The teleporting of data was further evident by research suggesting that physically separate photons can shuttle information between each other using computer chips. Now, another study further supports quantum teleportation but this time it’s through electrons.
The findings, published in Nature Communications, discusses the mechanical interaction of unlinked electrons.
"We provide evidence for 'entanglement swapping,' in which we create entanglement between two electrons even though the particles never interact, and 'quantum gate teleportation,' a potentially useful technique for quantum computing using teleportation," says John Nichol, an assistant professor of physics at Rochester. "Our work shows that this can be done even without photons."
The process of data moving or quantum entanglement is what Albert Einstein famously referred to as "spooky action at a distance". So, how exactly does it work? It involves one particle affecting the properties of the later even at a distance. The ‘teleportation’ part includes two separate entangled particles and third particle teleporting to the state of the two particles are separated by a large distance. Quantum teleportation involves two distant, entangled particles in which the state of a third particle instantly "teleports" its state to the two entangled particles.
"Individual electrons are promising qubits because they interact very easily with each other, and individual electron qubits in semiconductors are also scalable," Nichol says. "Reliably creating long-distance interactions between electrons is essential for quantum computing."
Source: Science Daily