Computer Power User Article - Under Development

NIST Teleports Closer To Quantum Computing We're still a long way from a "Star Trek" transporter, but physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and, separately, the University of Innsbruck have teleported properties from one atom to another in an advance that bodes well for the future development of quantum computers. In the 1990s researchers teleported laser light (photons) using a bizarre quantum phenomenon known as entanglement in which two particles become associated at the quantum level. When a change is applied to one entangled particle, its counterpart exhibits an identical change instantly, even though no other manipulation was applied to it. Einstein once referred to this as "spooky action." The NIST and Innsbruck groups took a major leap by teleporting complete atoms (calcium and berylluim ions). Because atoms are emerging as a likely medium for data storage in coming years, the ability to teleport them instantly has massive implications. Additionally, if atoms were used to represent binary bits for computation, the ability