The Transporter dilemma is a topic examined by the first episode of the science-meets-pop culture podcast Does It Fly?, a collaboration between Den of Geek, the Nacelle Company, and Roddenberry Entertainment. In the episode, hosts Tamara Krinsky and Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi dive into the possibility of the Transporter becoming part of society. Unfortunately, it’s not looking good for anyone who ever wanted to travel across light and space in just a few seconds.
One of the main issues with bringing the Transporter into reality, according to Oluseyi, is surprisingly practical.
“Here is the problem: doing a Transporter is many things altogether, and the first thing is a measurement and a storage data storage problem,” Oluseyi says.
“What information do I want to store? All right, so every particle has a mass charge and spin, it has a location, it’s moving in a particular way. Another one, suppose I want to say it’s molecules, so you all have like different configurations that you’ll have to account for for that molecule. Every particle that makes you up is in a particular state,” Oluseyi explains further. “So, suppose the scanning of you takes like 10 seconds. One part of you is going to be 10 seconds older than the other part of you, and then the other thing I think about it is you can never remember actually transporting, because you need to get the data before you initiate the transportation, so whatever state you are in, that is also the state of your memory.”
The technology was invented in the 22nd century of the Star Trek universe, but Oluseyi and Krinsky believe we are much further away from quantum teleportation. Although quantum teleportation is a physics principle that has exciting potential for the future of human technology, as of right now it is not capable of putting astronauts on Mars without a rocket.
Despite this, the Transporter and adjacent technology in film and television is still making appearances. The wonder that comes from such a revolutionary creation will certainly continue to inspire viewers just as it did in the first episodes of the Star Trek original series.
