Quantum link connects light, ions

Instantly teleporting people and objects from one planet to another is a staple of science fiction. Now, physicists at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have taken a promising step toward teleporting at least some traits from atom to atom.

The new technique relies on a well-known but still mysterious phenomenon called entanglement, in which specific quantum traits of elementary particles become correlated, even at vast distances (SN: 12/8/01, p.