Teleportation: The Impossible Leap

by David Darling

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."

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics

278 pages, Hardcover

First published April 29, 2005

About the author

There is more than one author in the database with this name. Not all books on this profile may belong to the same person.

David Darling is a science writer and astronomer. He is the author of many books, including the bestselling Equations of Eternity, and the popular online resource The Worlds of David Darling. He lives in Dundee, Scotland.

Reviews

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quantum mechanics meets Star Trek. Fascinating look at what is possible now, and what might become possible before too much longer. There's also a reasonably simple overview of quantum cryptography and of quantum computing. When I say 'reasonably simple' I mean that I only had to read some pages 2 or 3 times before I grasped them. This is one of those books that makes me feel about as smart as a beagle at certain points. Just pat me on the head and give me something to nosh on, stop with the equations already. But I slogged on, and the light would come back on, and I'd be human again. For me, reading physics is like the long foggy walk up the hill- there are periods of clarity followed by much more extensive periods of fog. Well worth the effort. There were a few very distracting typos in the edition I had, including "heath death" which kept me thinking of the Universe disappearing under chocolate-covered toffee.

[Krzyś Dz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo ciekawa książka - autor zaczyna od przykładów teleportacji w mass mediach, poprzez odkrywanie fizyki kwantowej po kryptografię kwantową i jej komercyjne wykorzystanie oraz komputery kwantowe, aż do opisu faktycznych eksperymentów (które się powiodły!) związanych z teleportacją cząstek i atomów. Zmusza do przemyśleń - czy teleportacja obiektów bądź ludzi kiedyś faktycznie będzie realna?

[Christopher Heckman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, if a bit out of date this year (2022).

[Luca Mauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Per quanto il libro possa a un primo sguardo sembrare un po' ingenuo nel tentativo di spiegare un concetto spiccatamente fantascientifico, gi�� le prime pagine fanno passare questo pensiero.
La prima parte del libro �� una spiegazione ordinata, lineare e comprensibile della transizione fra la fisica classica e la meccanica quantistica. La chiarezza espositiva e il linguaggio rigoroso sono i fondamenti di questo testo.
Superata la parte pi�� spiccatamente teorica e storica, il libro inizia a trattare di computazione quantistica e finalmente di teletrasporto. da nessuna parte ci sono concessioni a discorsi esageratamente fantascientifici o non-scientifici: dappertutto dono esposte ricerche reali gi�� eseguite o in corso di svolgimento e le loro possibili evoluzioni nel ragionevole futuro.

Il libro �� confezionato in una copertina cartonata con alette di buona fattura e ottima stampa tipografica.

[Bret · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book provides a summary of developments in quantum cryptography/computing as they relate to the potential future development of teleportation in the Star Trek sense. The first half of the book details the history of quantum physics, with a somewhat unnecessary emphasis on various personal details about the scientists involved.

I would not recommend this for anyone with at least a cursory knowledge of physics. The author is a journalist of some sort, and I am assuming has little to no scientific background, as he does a very poor job of explaining the basics of quantum physics, and doesn't bring any math whatsoever into the discussion. He is at his best when he's describing the personal relationship between Einstein and Bohr and other irrelevant anecdotes.

[mj durocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in one day.

Teleportation: The Impossible Leap was written in a very clear style that communicated the complexities of elementary quantum physics to the lay reader. Me. Not that I know anything about quantum physics now, but it helped me understand the information better.

What I found most interesting was how Darling tackled the ethical problems of teleportation as well. I felt it was balanced and fair with many relevant topics covered.

I highly recommend this book for anybody intrigued by the ethical and scientific possibilities of teleportation as well as those interested in science fiction or fantasy.

[Dick Nepon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3-D fax. here it is, the essential of future travel, instantaneous connections based on sub-atomic particle physics, and using chaos as a code to encrypt and decrypt leads to ethical questions about who and what is real. Who would have thought it?

You'll never look at reality the same after reading this.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this was a difficult and technical read at some times, it was very interesting and intriguing. I now want to know much more about entanglement, quantum cryptography, and quantum computers. Also, I am somewhat inspired to write a screenplay dealing with the philosophy and world changing effects of teleportation.

[Jeff Wombold · Rating 3 out of 5]

You thought it wasn't possible from Startrek but read this book

[Citra]

Still on top of my list!

[Jeff Price · Rating 1 out of 5]

So dry, but a good page flipper.