Teleportation and Quantum Teleportation
Teleportation is generally understood as an immediate transfer of matter from one point in our universe to another. This method to travel through space is a speculative theory, only plausible in case of the existence of natural wormholes, i.e. flaws in the regular weave of space-time, connecting points in space that are remote from each other.
The intentional construction of a wormhole would require the mass of billions of suns to fold space by means of gravity in a way that two remote points will coincide. So far, wormhole engineering is a purely theoretical solution of Einstein's space-time equations.
Quantum teleportation describes something different in comparison with teleportation of matter: Quantum teleportation is the transfer of quantum information units, called qubits, from one point in our universe to another, apparently without traversing the intervening space. The polarization of photons (horizontal or vertical) and the orientation of particle spins (up or down) are examples for qubits.
Quantum Entanglement
Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon where two elementary particles become intertwined and behave as one single system, regardless if they are very close to each other, or light years apart. In case of entangled photons, the measurement of a horizontal polarization of one photon will cause the vertical polarization of the other.
Today, polarization is used in 3D-cinemas. One eye gets only horizontally polarized light by special 3D-glasses, the other eye vertically polarized light. Therefore, each eye receives a different picture. Our brain interprets these two different pictures from two adjacent cameras as a 3-D-scenery.
If one person detects a photon with the right eye through such 3D-glasses, another person would see an entangled photon with the left eye. In case the polarization of the first photon suddenly changes, this photon will be then detected by the first person with the left eye and the entangled photon by the second person with the right eye.
World Records in Quantum Teleportation
In May 2012, Chinese engineers and scientists reported a new world record by teleporting qubits of a pair of entangled photons over a distance of about 97 kilometres across a lake. The Chinese team used a laser beam to transmit and detect more than 1,100 entangled photons in four hours.
A few days later, a group of European organizations announced a successful quantum teleportation between two Canary Islands at a distance of about 143 kilometres.
Quantum teleportation relies upon the phenomenon of quantum entanglement. The expression "quantum entanglement" was first used by Erwin Schrödinger in a letter to Albert Einstein, explaining a correlation of quantum states. Albert Einstein called entanglement a "spooky action at a distance", considering it a completely unrealistic mathematical result of quantum theory, because of a seeming information speed far beyond the speed of light, obviously purely demonstrating the incompleteness of the contemporary theory.
However, experiments prove quantum teleportation is possible, opening up discussions about the need to extend the model and interpretations of classical quantum physics.
Production of Entangled Photons
Entangled photons can be simply generated by optical crystals or half-silvered mirrors: A photon with high energy is split into a pair of entangled photons, one transmitted through the medium and the other reflected. Both photons travel at the speed of light. Certain atoms can be stimulated by lasers in such a way that they emit pairs of entangled photons.
Attempt at an Explanation
Entanglement could be the impact of hidden spatial dimensions that connect special points in space and time at any distance and at any time. The modern string theory provides first hints towards the existence of such extra dimensions. Let's assume that during their individual formation processes all types of matter were accelerated up to the speed of light along an additional space dimension. This dimension completes Einstein's four-dimensional space-time construction, defined by length, width, height and time.
The fifth dimension could be called a "strange and barely noticeable depth in space".
It is well-known that formed matter cannot reach the speed of light in relation to other masses anymore, except converted mass energy, like the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) of mass defects of nuclear bombs. However, all masses continue to move at the speed of light on the fifth dimension. Thus the fifth dimension acquired very peculiar features and characteristics. Our visible universe moves like a huge spaceship with all its masses along this strange depth in space at the speed of light.
Looking at a photon at the speed of light, its relative standstill in time and the dramatic impact of a maximum relativistic length contraction, we detect similar features as we do for masses at the speed of light along an assumed fifth dimension. Our three dimensional space shrank to flat planes for any direction of the photon's light path. The photon does not register any length along its way through space. It can be deflected into any spatial direction and, therefore, could reach any point in space without losing time in comparison with the time on our clocks. The universe is undetectable for the photon as long as it does not interfere with matter. Nevertheless, our universe is existent, generating and hosting all of the photons that were produced in the past and that will be produced in the future.
Time on a fifth dimension would run enormously faster, if matter could move along this dimension at the speed of light. Our time would come to a standstill in comparison with the progression of time of this fifth dimension. We could only observe the probabilities of events in our three-dimensional space and along our timeline, with certain repetitive sequences: The quantum mechanical features appear on the classical map of the four-dimensional space-time-continuum and for all masses within.
Let us now add two more dimensions of the same kind as the fifth. The construction of the additional dimensions number five, six and seven are able to connect the entangled photons across the entire universe at an instant. These three dimensions complete a four-dimensional space-time set-up with flat geometries of a completely penetrating quantum background field.
Rotational Symmetry of Dimensions
Scientists drew a simplified four-dimensional space-time grid with straight dimensions, using one classical spatial dimension, the timeline, a relativistic time escape dimension and the assumed fifth dimension. The result was astonishing: Length, time, time escape dimension and the fifth dimension form a rectangular rotational symmetry. This construction is compatible with Einstein's imaginations of space-time relativity and mass impacts and integrates the strange aspects of quantum mechanics.
10 Dimensions of the Theories of Strings
The seven dimensions referred to above can be extended with three time escape dimensions instead of one. These escape-of-time dimensions are necessary and sufficient to give concrete forms to the experimentally proven space-time energy density functions of the general theory of relativity.
The result is 10 dimensions, i.e. four of Einstein's space-time and 6 barely noticeable and seemingly curled up dimensions. Three of those 10 dimensions are subject to a maximum time dilation, causing the noticeable variable energy densities, and another three dimensions remain in hiding because of extreme time acceleration. Using such a model, Einstein's curvatures of space-time continue to cause the seeming gravitational forces between all masses.
These 10 dimensions can be compared with the postulated 10 dimensions of the basic theories of strings. The M-theory of strings introduces a connecting 11th dimension and assumes the existence of countless parallel universes with leakages in between, calling this set-up a multiverse. Gravity of the modern M-theory of strings is the result of such leakages.
Because of the time acceleration of the spatial transfer geometry of qubits, i.e. on dimension number five, six and seven, it may as well turn out that the universe is not a tiny part of a multiverse but subject to the permanent renewal and overlapping of this transfer geometry. Such processes can be captured by the well-known calculations of the quantum mechanical probabilities and uncertainties.
Under these circumstances, any specific type of measurement means another type of interference that may lead to a different measurement result. Therefore, the influence of the dimensions number five, six and seven could explain the mysterious unsolved dualism of wave and particle, describing for example the inconsistent evaluations of light either as a particle stream or a wave, just depending on the specific type of measurement intrusion.
Applications of Entanglement
Today's research mainly investigates the quantum cryptography, concentrating on a secure exchange of information. This method uses the fact that information is directly transferred from point to point and not via a classical transport channel. An interception is impossible as long as new intelligent bugs cannot entangle additional photons with the originally entangled photons.
The transfer process of qubits is subject to the probabilities and uncertainties of quantum mechanics. The speed of entangled photons remains limited to the speed of light.
Innovative femtosecond-spectroscopy revealed complex plant processes, using sunlight efficiently without major heat losses because of a sufficiently stable entanglement of photons in the course of their photosynthesis. Such discoveries start a technological revolution, inspiring the development of quantum computers and a completely new generation of microchips.