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Teleportation, or Teletransportation, is the theoretical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It has a commonly recognized place in science fiction literature, film, and television, but as yet has a very limited application in real world physics, such as quantum teleportation or the study of wormholes.

Etymology

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The word teleportation was coined in 1931 by American writer Charles Fort to describe the strange disappearances and appearances of anomalies, which he suggested may be connected. He joined the Greek prefix tele- (meaning "distant") to the Latin verb portare (meaning "to carry"). Fort's first formal use of the word was in the second chapter of his 1931 book, Lo!: "Mostly in this book I shall specialize upon indications that there exists a transportory force that I shall call Teleportation.", commenting that "I shall be accused of having assembled lies, yarns, hoaxes, and superstitions. To some degree I think so myself. To some degree, I do not. I offer the data." Fort also suggested that teleportation might explain various allegedly paranormal phenomena.

The word teletransportation, which expands Fort's abbreviated term, was first employed by Derek Parfit as part of a thought exercise on identity.

Fiction

The earliest recorded story of a "matter transmitter" was Edward Page Mitchell's "The Man Without a Body" in 1877.

Experimentation

In 2004, the United States Air Force published a Teleportation Physics Study which defined five types of teleportation: SciFi, psychic, engineering the vacuum or spacetime metric, quantum entanglement, and exotic.

See also

• Quantum teleportation
• Teleportation in fiction
• Wormhole

References

1. "Lo!: Part I: 2". Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
2. "less well-known is the fact that Charles Fort coined the word in 1931" in Rickard, B. and Michell, J. Unexplained Phenomena: a Rough Guide special (Rough Guides, 2000 (ISBN 1-85828-589-5), p.3)
3. Mr. X. "Lo!: A Hypertext Edition of Charles Hoy Fort's Book". Resologist.net. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
4. "Teleportation in early science fiction". The Worlds of David Darling. (Publishing date Unknown). Retrieved 2014-02-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Teleportation Physics Study

Further reading

• David Darling (2005). Teleportation: The Impossible Leap. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-71545-0.
• The Physics of Star Trek

• Physics in fiction
• Superhuman features or abilities in fiction
• Science fiction themes
• Faster-than-light travel
• Faster-than-light communication