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The number one problem with quantum teleportation is the name. It should have been named quantum telegraphy. There would be fewer cranks.

by dsr_ 8y ago

mishurov 8y ago
It's charming in a way. I nicely alludes to Sci-Fi and confuses newbies.
friday99 8y ago
or even something more descriptive like quantum state disambiguation.
- kgwgk 8y ago
  How is that more descriptive? The most natural name would be "replication" (of the quantum state), but given than the original is lost and only the replica survives "teleportation" doesn't look so bad.
  - chrisweekly 8y ago
    "quantum state transfer"?
abdullahkhalids 8y ago
The original paper [1], written by some of the best scientists of the era, correctly called it "Teleporting an Unknown Quantum State", and nowhere did it use the term "quantum teleportation". Later, in interest of conciseness, the ambiguous term "quantum teleportation" got introduced. It would have been better if "quantum state teleportation" had been used. [1] https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.70.1895 https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.70...
- buboard 8y ago
  but quantum state is all that can ever be measured about the system so seems a redundant word
  - nine_k 8y ago
    No mass is teleported, that's the key. A state of one mass is copied to another mass, but no mass is moved in the sense that would invoke General Relativity, as far as I understand. I suppose teleporting a state in such a way that the target mass would change its motion in a significant way ("accelerated") without affecting the source mass is impossible, because it would break the conservation of impulse.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - FeepingCreature 8y ago
      Quantum copypaste.
kgwgk 8y ago
Relevant read: "Quantum Teleportation" and other Quantum Misnomers (H. D. Zeh) http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~as3/Teleport.html http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~as3/Teleport.html
Ws32ok 8y ago
Names have the power to guide perception about what they identify. "Quantum teleportation" is as easily misused as that of "dark matter". Is it actually matter? If the answer isn't a definite yes then the term doesn't help long term but maybe it's good enough for now. "Dark energy" is another term. Is it accurate? Maybe. It alse works for plenty of people for now. Both terms assist as long as they help discussion but the lay person easily gets confused and experts can get mislead as well. If you think of it as matter then you design experiments in particular ways. You think about it in those terms. You don't think of it in other ways to the same extent. Quote from Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter "The primary evidence for dark matter is that calculations show that many galaxies would fly apart instead of rotating". Not exactly a ringing endorsement of matter as real. But as long as it helps the overall investigation then it's ok for now. Calculations can accurately describe reality and guide decisions so why not. "Quantum teleportation" as a term is easily derailed no matter how helpful it describes a portion of reality. Maybe it simply needs a few more words nearby to put the brakes on people's imagination. The map of the place is not the place.

The number one problem with quantum teleportation is the name. It should have been named quantum telegraphy. There would be fewer cranks.

by dsr_ 8y ago

The number one problem with quantum teleportation is the name. It should have been named quantum telegraphy. There would be fewer cranks.

mishurov 8y ago

It's charming in a way. I nicely alludes to Sci-Fi and confuses newbies.

friday99 8y ago

or even something more descriptive like quantum state disambiguation.

kgwgk 8y ago
How is that more descriptive? The most natural name would be "replication" (of the quantum state), but given than the original is lost and only the replica survives "teleportation" doesn't look so bad.
- chrisweekly 8y ago
  "quantum state transfer"?

abdullahkhalids 8y ago

The original paper [1], written by some of the best scientists of the era, correctly called it "Teleporting an Unknown Quantum State", and nowhere did it use the term "quantum teleportation". Later, in interest of conciseness, the ambiguous term "quantum teleportation" got introduced. It would have been better if "quantum state teleportation" had been used. [1] https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.70.1895 https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.70...

buboard 8y ago
but quantum state is all that can ever be measured about the system so seems a redundant word
- nine_k 8y ago
  No mass is teleported, that's the key. A state of one mass is copied to another mass, but no mass is moved in the sense that would invoke General Relativity, as far as I understand. I suppose teleporting a state in such a way that the target mass would change its motion in a significant way ("accelerated") without affecting the source mass is impossible, because it would break the conservation of impulse.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - FeepingCreature 8y ago
    Quantum copypaste.

kgwgk 8y ago

Relevant read: "Quantum Teleportation" and other Quantum Misnomers (H. D. Zeh) http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~as3/Teleport.html http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~as3/Teleport.html

Ws32ok 8y ago

Names have the power to guide perception about what they identify. "Quantum teleportation" is as easily misused as that of "dark matter". Is it actually matter? If the answer isn't a definite yes then the term doesn't help long term but maybe it's good enough for now. "Dark energy" is another term. Is it accurate? Maybe. It alse works for plenty of people for now. Both terms assist as long as they help discussion but the lay person easily gets confused and experts can get mislead as well. If you think of it as matter then you design experiments in particular ways. You think about it in those terms. You don't think of it in other ways to the same extent. Quote from Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter "The primary evidence for dark matter is that calculations show that many galaxies would fly apart instead of rotating". Not exactly a ringing endorsement of matter as real. But as long as it helps the overall investigation then it's ok for now. Calculations can accurately describe reality and guide decisions so why not. "Quantum teleportation" as a term is easily derailed no matter how helpful it describes a portion of reality. Maybe it simply needs a few more words nearby to put the brakes on people's imagination. The map of the place is not the place.