Scientists have performed successful teleportation on atoms for the first time. The feat was achieved by two teams of researchers working independently on the problem in the US and Austria. The ability to transfer key properties of one particle to another without using any physical link has until now only been achieved with laser light. Experts say the capability to do the same with massive particles like atoms could lead to new superfast computers. This development is a long way from the transporters used by Jean-Luc Picard and Captain Kirk in the famous Star Trek TV series.
When physicists talk about "teleportation", they are describing the transfer of "quantum states" between separate atoms. These would be such things as an atom"s energy, motion, magnetic field and other physical properties. And in the computers of tomorrow, this information would form the qubits (the quantum form of the digital bits 1 and 0) of data processing through the machines.
The landmark experiments are being viewed as a major advance in the quest to achieve ultra-fast computers, inside which teleportation could provide a form of invisible "quantum wiring".
These machines would be able to handle far bigger and more complex loads than today"s super-computers, and at many times their speed.