Teleportation

Teleportation, or teletransportation, is the process of moving objects from one place to another more or less instantaneously, without using conventional transportation.

In Science Fiction

Perhaps the earliest teleportation story in science fiction was printed in 1877: David Page Mitchell?s story "The Man Without A Body" details the efforts of a scientist who discovers a method to disassemble a cat?s atoms and transmit them over a telegraph wire. When he tries this on himself, the telegraph?s battery dies after only the man?s head was transmitted.

Related Topics:
David Page Mitchell - Atom - Telegraph

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Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Disintegration Machine" (a 1927 Professor Challenger story) also revolves around the idea of teleportation.

Related Topics:
Arthur Conan Doyle - Professor Challenger

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Later, authors of 20th century science fiction used the term and concept of teleportation. Early science fiction writers like A. E. van Vogt?s World of Null-A (Astounding Science Fiction, August 1945), George Langelaan?s The Fly (Playboy Magazine, June 1957) and Algis Budrys? Rogue Moon (Gold Medal Books, 1960) used teleportation in their fiction. Alfred Bester's acclaimed novel The Stars My Destination details a culture transformed by the discovery of instantaneous "jaunting."

Related Topics:
20th century - Science fiction - A. E. van Vogt - Astounding Science Fiction - August - 1945 - The Fly - Playboy Magazine - June - 1957 - Algis Budrys - 1960 - Alfred Bester - The Stars My Destination

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In Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series teleportation has been described as "not quite as fun as a good solid kick to the head" on acount of the fact that teleporting involves having your atoms ripped apart in one place and put back together somewhere else. Also in Tod McFarlane's comic books Spawn is physically ill after teleporting.

Related Topics:
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Tod McFarlane - Spawn

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For the most part, widespread pop-culture awareness of the teleportation concept began with the numerous Star Trek television and theatrical movie series (beginning in 1964 with the original TV series pilot episode, The Cage) that was originally spawned by television writer-producer Gene Roddenberry. The teleportation of Star Trek is likely the most widely-recognized fictional teleportation: the ?transporter? contraption, which is used to teleport people and things from ship to ship or from ship to planet and the other way around in an instant. Persons or non-living items would be placed on the transporter pad and are from top to bottom dismantled particle by particle by a beam with their atoms being patterned in a computer buffer and converted into a beam that is directed toward the destination, and then reassembled back into their original form (with no mistakes!).

Related Topics:
Star Trek - Television - Movie - 1964 - The Cage - Gene Roddenberry

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In the last few decades, the rise of computer games has resulted in a rise in teleportation scenarios. One such example is the Half-Life series of computer games, in which a scientific experiment goes wrong and allows bizarre aliens to teleport onto Earth.

Related Topics:
Computer game - Half-Life - Aliens

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