Quantum teleportation

Scientists have teleported photons to a distance of 63 miles, a new record.  This “quantum teleportation” is not quite what happens on Star Trek, but it is another example of the strangeness of the universe as disclosed by quantum physics. 

From Shades of ‘Star Trek’? Quantum Teleportation Sets Record – NBC News:

A record-breaking distance has been achieved in the bizarre world of quantum teleportation, scientists say.

The scientists teleported photons packets of light across a spool of fiber optics 63 miles long, four times farther than the previous record. This research could one day lead to a “quantum Internet” that offers next-generation encryption, the scientists said.

Teleporting an object from one point in the universe to another without it moving through the space in between may sound like science fiction pulled from an episode of “Star Trek,” but scientists have actually been experimenting with “quantum teleportation” since 1998.

Quantum teleportation depends on capturing the fundamental details of an object — its “quantum states” — and instantly transmitting that information from one area to another to recreate the exact object someplace else.

Quantum teleportation relies on the strange nature of quantum physics, which finds that the fundamental building blocks of the universe can essentially exist in two or more places at once. Currently, physicists can’t instantly transport matter say, a human, but they can use quantum teleportation to beam information from one place to another.