Teleporting Particles of Light

Complicated setup used in this teleportation experiment

   We are slowly but steadily approaching the futuristic idea of teleportation that has been depicted in countless movies and shows throughout the past century. This teleportation experiment involved the photon - a subatomic particle of light.This teleported light wasn't just any light - it was in a special quantum state called a Schrödinger's-cat state.
   Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment invented by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935 to describe the quantum mechanics: that some properties of particles are not decided until an outsider forces them to choose by measuring them. In that same aspect, the said cat is said to be both dead AND alive at the same time, but the truth is only revealed when someone opens the box and finds out for themselves.
   In a real-life use of Schrödinger's theoretical paradoxical cat, researchers report that they were able to quickly transfer a complex set of quantum information while preserving its integrity. The information, in the form of light, was manipulated in such a way that it existed in two states at the same time, and it was destroyed in one spot and recreated in another. The new breakthrough is a major step toward building safe, effective quantum computers and other such technology.
   The original article - Teleportation of Nonclassical Wave Packets of Light was published in the April edition of Science Magazine.

via: PopSci