The first time I read Lawrence M. Krauss’ masterpiece, “The Physics of Star Trek”, was in January 1996, which is hard to believe. Time, among other things, definitely does fly, but doesn’t diminish my memory of how much I enjoyed that book. Being a physicist and a life-long science fiction fan, I absolutely devoured it, even though some of his conclusions were disappointing. For example, he virtually discounted the possibility of teleportation. He recounted the basic steps as defined in the Star Trek Next Generation Technical Manual as follows:
- Transporter locks on the target.
- Scans the image to be transported.
- Dematerializes the item (or person).
- Retains the information in a “pattern buffer”
- Transmits the “matter stream” in an “annular confinement beam”.
- Reassembles it based on data retained in the “pattern buffer.”
Krauss then proceeded to explain in meticulous, often amusing detail, what the requirements would be to create both a…
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