Synopses & Reviews
The idea of teleportation is familiar to everyone who has watched Star Trek. With the words "beam me up," a person shimmers out of existence in one place and then rematerializes an instant later somewhere else.
No longer the stuff of science fiction, teleportation has become a reality. Though the current state of this cutting-edge science can transport only such light fare as subatomic particles, it is simply a matter of time before larger atoms, molecules, and eventually living things take the ultimate thrill ride. In Teleportation, science writer David Darling traces the evolution of this hugely exciting field, relating the all-too-human stories behind its birth and taking an in-depth look at the incredible possibilities that may await us in the next few decades.
Darling visits the key labs that cradled teleportation during its adolescence, outlining the remarkable experiments and discoveries that advanced the science. He masterfully ties in two of the hottest, fastest-growing fieldsquantum cryptography and quantum computingwhich share, along with teleportation, the strangest, most mysterious phenomenon in all of science at their core: entanglement.
Adding a rich context to the underlying science, Darling examines the thornier philosophical questions that would arise with the possible success of human teleportation, shedding new light on the existence of the soul and what it really means to be a human being. Would you want to be dismantled atom by atom knowing that what would rematerialize at the other end might just be a copy of the original you?
Authoritative, thought provoking, and thoroughly entertaining, Teleportation uncovers the powerful role this fascinating technology will play in all our futuresand reveals how it may soon become the not-so-impossible leap.
Review
""Explores the possibility of this bizarre form of travel... A fascinating tale with philosophical and practical musings on the highly unlikely prospect of teleportation of people."" (""Science News"")
A science fiction staple and a fantasy of those with long commutes, teleportation--sending something from here to there in the blink of an eye--has long seemed likely to remain a fictional construct. But as Darling explains in this marvelous work, teleportation in one form or another has been happening in laboratories for a few years and is on its way to becoming a routine part of life--at least for information. Darling (""Equations of Eternity"") uses lively, companionable prose to explain such heady subjects as quantum mechanics, the property of entanglement (which Einstein referred to as ""spooky action at a distance"") and information theory. While these concepts appear to fly in the face of reason, the author is able to make sense of them and put them in the context of other new ideas that at first may be impossible to accept. After tracing the history of developments that became key to teleportation, the text delves into its use for secret communications, massive parallel data processing and investigating quantum mechanics; it also examines the moral, spiritual and philosophical questions that will arise if ""beaming"" people up ever becomes possible. Suitable for a pop-science audience, especially those looking for a way into quantum mechanics and wave-particle duality, this singular work deserves a wide audience. ""Agent, Patricia van der Leun. (May)"" (""Publishers Weekly, "" March 28, 2005)
Synopsis
Until recently the stuff of sci-fi fiction and Star Trek reruns, teleportation has become a reality. Though the current state of the science can only transport such light fare as subatomic particles, it's only a matter of time before larger atoms, molecules and eventually living things take the ultimate thrill ride. In Teleportation, David Darling follows the evolution of this field, visiting the key labs that have cradled this cutting-edge science, and relating the all-too-human stories behind the birth of this futuristic field. Darling will also tie in the connected fields of cryptography and quantum computing, two compelling areas that have matured along with teleportation. As well, Darling examines some of the thornier philosophical questions that would arise. For example, would you want to be teleported if you knew that any teleported object is destroyed when sent, and only reconstituted at the far end? Is the object(or person) that comes out the same as the one that went in, or merely a copy? And perhaps most importantly, can a soul be teleported?
Synopsis
An authoritative, entertaining examination of the ultimate thrill ride
Until recently the stuff of sci-fi fiction and Star Trek reruns, teleportation has become a reality-for subatomic particles at least. In this eye-opening book, science author David Darling follows the remarkable evolution of teleportation, visiting the key labs that have cradled this cutting-edge science and relating the all-too-human stories behind its birth. He ties in the fast emerging fields of cryptography and quantum computing, tackles some thorny philosophical questions (for instance, can a soul be teleported?), and asks when and how humans may be able to ""beam up.""
Synopsis
Praise for David Darling
Deep Time
""A speculative and provocative book that extends what is known into what is unknown. It is not just another book on cosmology. . . . The emphasis here is on wonder.""
--Los Angeles Times
""You don't have to be a scientist to understand it, and if you're one who enjoys contemplating the mysteries of creation, you should find it deeply rewarding.""
--The Associated Press
Equations of Eternity
""Mr. Darling provides one of the clearest and most eloquent expositions of the quantum conundrum and its philosophical and metaphysical implications that I have read recently.""
--The New York Times
""In a boldly speculative tour of the mind and the cosmos, Darling expounds upon the relationship between mathematics and the physical reality it describes.""
--Library Journal
About the Author
DAVID DARLING, Ph.D., is the author of several other narrative science titles, including Equations of Eternity, a New York Times Notable Book, and Deep Time. He is also the author of The Universal Book of Mathematics, The Universal Book of Astronomy, and The Complete Book of Spaceflight, all from Wiley, as well as more than thirty children's books. His articles and reviews have appeared in Astronomy, Omni, Penthouse, New Scientist, the New York Times, and the Guardian, among others. He lives near Dundee, Scotland.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments.
Prologue.
Introduction: A Brief History of Beaming Up.
1. Light Readings.
2. Ghosts in the Material World.
3. The Mysterious Link.
4. Dataverse.
5. Secret Communications.
6. A Miracle in Montreal.
7. Small Steps and Quantum Leaps.
8. A Computer without Bounds.
9. Atoms, Molecules, Microbes . . ..
10. Far-fetched and Far-reaching.
Epilogue.
Chronology.
References.
Bibliography.
Index.