Beam me up, Scotty: Will human teleportation ever become a reality?

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

Teleportation, reminiscent of the Star Trek-style that popularized the concept, involves the process of disassembling matter into minuscule, transmittable forms (those shimmering lights you witness on the screen) and subsequently reassembling it at a different location, all while ensuring your hairstyle remains undisturbed.

Interestingly, this teleportation concept was originally introduced in the 1960s TV series to control production costs (even simulating starship landings can be quite expensive).

However, can we dismiss the notion of a human race capable of interstellar travel and teleportation as pure fantasy? While science fiction often overlooks the intricate technical challenges of faster-than-light travel, scientists have not definitively labeled it as unattainable. As experimental physicist Ben Buchler at the Australian National University puts it, "It's simply an incredibly daunting endeavor."

Nonetheless, scientists assert that should teleportation ever become a reality, it would not entail the physical relocation of matter. The fundamental constituents of our bodies face substantial obstacles when traversing solid barriers, and the energy required to disassemble the formidable forces binding our atoms together at the subatomic level would be staggering, surpassing any reasonable budget.

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Three things from Star Trek scientists first scoffed at but are now working on with positive results: (1) warp drive, (2) teleportation and (3) real-time language translation.

Things we already have: cellphones, video calls like in 2001 (Skype, Zoom), monitoring vital medical readings on one bedside display, MRI, functional MRI (real-time scans to watch brain activity), DAT scan (looks at dopamine levels using an atomic-level scanner; positive results show Parkinson's disease. Been there, got that), all the functions a cellphone can perform to monitor vitals, diabetes, EKG (heart); GPS, astronomy at visible, infrared, x-ray and microwave frequencies; digital displays, electronic musical instruments, freeze dried meals for astronauts, landing rockets (SpaceX), landing on an asteroid, moving an asteroid, landing on planets (Venus, Mars), flying in deep outer space (Voyager 1 and 2), heart transplants (Captain Picard had one), growing tissue and organs in the lab, using magnetism to speed bone healing; Dick Tracy-style multi-purpose wristwatches, restore hearing, restore vision, using lithium (dilithium) for power, electronic currency, multi-culturism, and more.

So much of science fiction becomes science fact. It's exciting to live in the 21st Century.