Matter Transmitter - Atomic=20 Rockets

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Introduction

Larry Niven defined "teleportation" as any method of moving from = point to=20 point in negligible time.

This used to be a mind-boggling cutting-edge = science fiction=20 concept back in the late 1800's, e.g., "Professor Vehr's = Electrical=20 Experiment" (24 January 1885 The Argonaut) by Robert Duncan Milne. But = in 1965=20 Gene Roddenberry was developing a new TV series called "Star Trek" and = found=20 that landing the crew on an alien planet in some kind of shuttle would = blow=20 their entire special effect budget. So he invented the Transporter.=20 One cheap optical effect to "beam" the crew down and they were well into = the=20 story by script page two.

So nowadays everybody knows what a transporter is, and the phrase = "beam=20 me up Scotty, there is no intelligent life forms here" is part of = the=20 popular lexicon. This may or may not be the reason why the concept has = become=20 pass=C3=A9 in science fiction. Which is a pity because it allows=20 science fiction authors to explore all sorts of deep philosophical=20 questions.

The popular term for matter transmitter back in the day was = "transmat". But=20 the word really never caught on. George O. Smith said that if audio is = for=20 sonics; radio is for electronics; video is for television signals then=20 transmitting matter is "mateo." That word never caught on either. In = Poul=20 Anderson's The = Enemy=20 Stars they were called "mattercasters." In Piers Anthony's Cluster=20 series they were called "mattermitters."

But are they possible? Maybe. They are certainly unobtanium,=20 verging on handwavium.

Limitations

As with all fringe science fiction speculations, if you are going to = go=20 beyond physics as we know it, a wise SF author will try to limit=20 the damage. Break one law of physic, not five or six. Try to keep = the rest=20 intact.

Conservation Of=20 Energy

Assume that matter transmission obeys the law=20 of conservation of energy. So if you use a transmat to teleport = uphill, the=20 transmat will need a way of using extra electricity to compensate for = the gravitational=20 potential energy difference or your body will suffer a sudden drop = in=20 temperature or other energy loss. Moving uphill creates a gain in = potential=20 energy, the law of conservation of energy says that energy has to come = from=20 somewhere.

Teleporting downhill means you will lose potential energy. If the = transmat=20 does not compensate for it, your body temperature will rise. = The energy=20 has to go somewhere.

The equations below were derived by me from Larry Niven's The Theory = and=20 Practice of Teleportation. They may be incorrect.

How much energy will be required to be added or removed in order to=20 compensate for altitude change teleports?

=CE=94U =3D -(m * g * =CE=94h)

where:

=CE=94U =3D =C2=B1 change in energy (Joules) plus = for energy added to=20 object, minus for energy removed
m =3D mass of object = teleported=20 (kg) man=3D68 kg
g =3D acceleration due to gravity (m/s) = Terra=3D9.81=20 m/s
=CE=94h =3D =C2=B1 change in altitude (m) plus for = traveling upwards,=20 minus for traveling downwards

What will be the temperature effect of uncompensated altitude change=20 teleports?

=CE=94T =3D -((m * g * =CE=94h) / (m * = C))

where:

=CE=94T =3D =C2=B1 change in temperature (=C2=B0C = or K) plus for heating,=20 minus for cooling
m =3D mass of object teleported (kg) = man=3D68=20 kg
g =3D acceleration due to gravity (m/s) Terra=3D9.81=20 m/s
=CE=94h =3D =C2=B1 change in altitude (m) plus for = traveling upwards,=20 minus for traveling downwards
C =3D specific heat capacity = of object=20 (J/kg-K) man=E2=89=884,184 J/kg-K (water)

Example: idiot PFC Floyd steps into a transmat and neglects = to turn=20 on the altitude compensator. He set the transmat's destination dials to = the top=20 of Mount Krumpet, which is exactly one kilometer higher than Floyd's = current=20 location. How much is his body temperature going to drop?

=CE=94T =3D -((m * g * =CE=94h) / (m * = C))
=CE=94T =3D -((68 * 98.1 *=20 1,000) / (68 * 4,184))
=CE=94T =3D -(667,080 / 284,512)
=CE=94T = =3D=20 -2.4=C2=B0C

A drop of 2.4 degrees is not enough to kill, but Floyd's teeth might = chatter=20 momentarily.

If you used an uncompensated transmat to teleport from the = International=20 Space Station to Terra's surface (-400 km), your body temperature would = rise=20 from it's normal 37=C2=B0C to about 997=C2=B0C. Hot enough to melt = silver, and certainly=20 hot enough to kill you instantly. A compensated transmat would suck = 266,832,000=20 joules out of your body in order to spare you from that cruel fate.

Actually, according to the Boom=20 Table it only takes 1.42=C3=9710⁸ joules to totally = vaporize a body,=20 leaving only a skeleton. Energy compensation is important.

Teleporting up to the ISS will make your body temperature fall from = 37=C2=B0C to=20 about -923=C2=B0C. Which is pretty frigid, since the coldest spot on = Terra is about=20 -50=C2=B0C. This will also kill you instantly.

A reader named Yoel points out that -923=C2=B0C is about six hundred = and fifty=20 degrees below absolute zero, which is impossible. Niven's equation was = sort of=20 assuming that the energy needed to make up for the potential energy loss = would=20 come from heat. This observation would mean that either the energy would = come=20 from somewhere else, or Floyd would materialize at an altitude = corresponding to=20 a temperature drop to absolute zero (=E2=88=92273.15=C2=B0C). The result = would depend upon=20 the details of the teleporation method.

Conservation=20 Of Momentum

Assume that matter transmission obeys the law=20 of conservation of momentum. If you are in an automobile speeding = along at=20 80 kilometers per hour, and use a transmat to teleport to a nearby truck = stop,=20 you will arrive at the truck stop. Still moving at 80 kph. It = will be=20 more or less the same as if you just jumped out of the moving car.

Conservation of momentum will affect you if you are standing on the = ground=20 (of a rotating planet).

Imagine you are above the North Pole of Terra looking down. Terra is = spinning=20 counter clock wise. You can see that person Alfa standing on the equator = in=20 South America is moving in a direction almost ninety degrees away from = person=20 Bravo standing on the equator in Africa (due East). If person Alfa = teleported to=20 Africa, the vector sum between their personal vector and the vector of = the=20 grounds of Africa will be such that they will be thrown up into the air. = If they=20 teleport in a Western direction they will be thrown into the ground. = Ouch.

Terra spins "faster" at the equator than it does at, say 45=C2=B0 = latitude. This=20 means if you teleport north you'll be jerked to the left, and = teleporting south=20 will jerk you to the right.

The equations below were derived by me from Larry Niven's The Theory = and=20 Practice of Teleportation. They may be incorrect.

Teleporting East or West, how fast will our teleporter be thrown up = in the=20 air or slammed into the ground?

upVel =3D sinRad(deltaEW / (radiusPlanet * cos(latitude))) * = (rotVel *=20 cos(latitude))

where:

upVel =3D =C2=B1 velocity teleporter is thrown = (m/s) plus for=20 up, minus for down
sinRad(x) =3D sine of x, where x is in=20 Radians
deltaEW =3D distance teleported East or West=20 (m)
radiusPlanet =3D radius of the planet (m) = Terra=3D6,371,000=20 m
cos(x) =3D cosine of x, where x is in = degrees
latitude=20 =3D geographical latitude of teleporter (degrees)
rotVel = =3D=20 rotational velocity of the planet at the equator (m/s) Terra=3D464=20 m/s

Teleporting North or South, how fast will our teleporter be thrown = left or=20 right?

leftVel =3D (rotVel * cos(startLatitude)) - (rotVel *=20 cos(destLatitude))

where:

leftVel =3D =C2=B1 velocity teleporter is thrown = (m/s) plus for=20 left, minus for right
rotVel =3D rotational velocity of = the planet=20 at the equator (m/s) Terra=3D464 m/s
startLatitude =3D = geographical=20 latitude of starting position (degrees)
destLatitude =3D=20 geographical latitude of destination position = (degrees)

Transmitter=20 And Receiver

In The Theory and Practice of Teleportation, Larry Niven noted some=20 implications about a transmat's requirements for a transmitter or = receiver.

If the transmat does not require a transmitter, it can reach out to = anything=20 in range and teleport it to the transmat's receiving stage = (e.g., Skylark = Duquesne by E. E.=20 "Doc" Smith). This turns out to be unreasonably powerful. A = kleptomaniac's=20 dream. Whoever owns a transmitterless transmat can steal anything they = want. Not=20 just gold, also things like top-secret government documents. If one = person has=20 one they are the king of the world, until somebody assassinates them and = becomes=20 the new king. If there are several people who have transmitterless = transmats,=20 the economy of the world collapses, technological infrastructure decays, = and=20 eventually the transmat cannot be repaired. Civilization has to start = over from=20 scratch.

If the transmat does not require a receiver, it can send objects out = to=20 anywhere it wants. Objects like bombs (e.g., The=20 Person from Porlock by Raymond F. Jones). This also turns out to be=20 unreasonably powerful. You could find the current location of the leader = of a=20 nation you disliked and teleport a nuclear warhead on to their lap. = Again if=20 there is only one the owner is the king of the world. Until they are=20 assassinated. If there are two the owning nations will bomb each other = and the=20 rest of the world into the stone age (or at least into a level of = technological=20 decay where the transmats cannot be repaired).

The main way to reduce the effect these two disasters is to postulate = some=20 way of protecting certain areas from teleportation. For example, if they = cannot=20 operate on a location that is deep enough underground, or surrounded by = a=20 magnetic field, or something.

The easiest way to keep transmats from destroying civilization is to = mandate=20 that they require both transmitters and receivers. Most science fiction = does for=20 that reason. Except for Star Trek, they stop reckless use of = transporters by=20 stopping them with deflector shields and magnetic fields to prevent = beaming.

Interpenetration

From Malphite=20 Cosplay

The old science fiction writers assumed that two bodies cannot occupy = the=20 same place at the same time. So they figured if you used a transmat to = transmit=20 yourself to point Charlie, and there was a large rock occupying point = Charlie,=20 both you and the rock would be transformed into a huge explosion. = Actually=20 material objects are mostly empty space so you'd probably just become an = instant=20 fossil inside the rock (or mostly inside the rock). You'd still = be=20 dead, either instantly or eventually.

Transmitting into a mass of air will kill you too. Embolisms, the = bends,=20 other nasty effects.

If you have proper transmats needing both transmitter and receiver, = you'd=20 want the business ends to have enclosed booths. The idea is as you (and = the air=20 around you) are being transmatted from transmat Delta to transmat = Foxtrot, the=20 volume of air in the booth on transmat Foxtrox is simultaneously being=20 transmatted to transmat Delta. This way both you and the mass of air = will be=20 sent into an empty booth full of vacuum. No boom.

Or you could save power by just pumping all the air out of the = destination=20 transmat booth.

Other = Limits

The main variables an author can play with are the maximum range = between the=20 origin and destination, and the energy cost per use. This mostly impact = what=20 conventional forms of transportation are rendered obsolete by transmats. = If the=20 cost per use is fixed regardless of distance, and expensive, automobiles = and=20 buses will remain but airplanes will vanish. If cost is cheap but range = is=20 limited, people will travel by a series of jumps. But eventually you = will reach=20 a point where it is cheaper to use an airplane. So automobiles and buss = es will=20 vanish.

For other limits, recognize that matter transmission is very much = like Discontinuous=20 ("teleport-like") faster-than-light drives. So many of the limits of = the=20 numerous times of discontinuous drives can be appropriated by the author = and=20 applied to their transmats.

Web and=20 Starship

In the wargame Web=20 and Starship (keep in mind this is a paper-and cardboard = tabletop game,=20 not a computer game) game designer (the legendary Greg=20 Costikyan) had a clever limitation on matter transmission, used as a = method=20 of FTL travel.

The situation starts with two alien races: the Gwynhyfarr (hereafter = referred=20 to as "Birds") and the Pereen (hereafter referred to as "Moles"). Each = has a=20 totally different type of FTL transport system.

The Birds have FTL starships that can travel anywhere in the universe = at=20 will. No special launch or landing sites are required. The trouble is = that the=20 starships are expensive to build (i.e., there are not many of = them),=20 and each has a limited cargo capacity.

The Moles have FTL matter transmission. It requires both a=20 transmitter and a receiver. Transmission is instantaneous.=20 Unfortunately in order to transmit to a new planet, a receiver = unit must=20 by shipped to the planet by a Slower-than-light robot ship. This of = course takes=20 years. The advantage of matter transmission is that they have huge cargo = capacities. The Moles can move entire armies through a matter = transmitter in a=20 matter of hours.

When the Bird Empire and the Mole Empire expanded to the point where = their=20 borders contacted each other, war was inevitable, but futile. Both = empires=20 wanted to destroy the other and take over the enemy's habitable planets. = Unfortunately, due to the limitations of their respective FTL, war was=20 impossible.

Say the Birds want to invade a Mole planet. The Bird starships can go = anywhere, so the Birds load up their limited number of starships with = the few=20 numbers of solders each ship can carry, and invade the Mole planet.=20 Whereupon the Moles use their matter transmitters to instantly = transport=20 in the planetary armies of all the other Mole planets, and the combined = Mole=20 armies turn the pathetically small Bird invasion force into a smoking=20 crater.

Say the Moles want to invade a Bird planet. The Moles load a matter=20 transmitter unit into a STL robot ship, aim it at the Bird planet to = invade, and=20 wait a few years for it to arrive. Years later, as it approaches = the=20 Bird planet, it is noticed by Bird space patrols, who promptly shoot it = to=20 pieces.

Stalemate

Until one fine day both the Birds and the Moles notice radio waves = being=20 emitted by a small planet set right in between the two empires. A planet = called=20 Earth.

3D"" — From=20 **Web and Starship game manual**, Greg Costikyan=20 (1984)

3D"" — From=20 **Web and Starship game manual**, Greg Costikyan=20 (1984)

The=20 Warbots

The Second Alakar (Warbot) was used in several conflicts, among = them the=20 most noticeable being the Haak Wars of 14696.

The Haak, centipedean creatures from some obscure place in the = galactic=20 center, had stretched their empire out in a most curious fashion. = Most=20 races preferred to expand in a globe, the center being their planet of = origin.=20 The Haak expanded in a straight line thirty light-years across. They = had a=20 science of teleportation, which could get a Haak on the outside border = of his=20 empire, twenty thousand light-years to the center, in two years. They = did not=20 do very much work with spaceships, beyond sending robot probes to land = colonization reception booths.

When the first booths of Haak began landing on human planets in the = distant=20 Lace pattern, the alarm went out. The Lace Pattern was occupied by a = large=20 number of little human and non-human empires, none very large, and = because it=20 was four years of travel from the Palaric States, the nearest really = organized=20 culture, it never heard much from the main body of civilization, = except for=20 wandering ships of Alakars.

In fact, it was not generally known that all those marvelous myths = of=20 Antares, and TOSS, and Pale, and so on, were not fairy tales. Few of = the=20 Alakars who wandered through the region had ever been anywhere near = the=20 Civilization. The entire war, though it dragged on for ten years, was = hardly=20 eighth-page news back in Antares.

From The Warbots by = Larry=20 Todd (1968)

The=20 Time Mercenaries

3D"" — From The Time = Mercenaries by=20 Philip E. High (1968)

3D"" — From The Time = Mercenaries by=20 Philip E. High (1968)

Tunnel=20 in the Sky

3D"" — From Tunnel=20 in the Sky by Robert Heinlein ()

3D""=20 — From Tunnel=20 in the Sky by Robert Heinlein ()

Operating = Principle

Now the question arises how the heck does the blasted transmat = actually work?=20 The operating principle generally creates some major unintended=20 consequences.

Ironically, when Gene Roddenberry invented=20 the the Star Trek transporter in order to save some money on his = special=20 effects budget, it turned around and bit him on the derri=C3=A8re with = an unintended=20 consequence. Not because of the transporter's operating principle. = Instead the=20 problem was the fact it worked at all.

You see, Mr. Roddenberry invented the transporter to make it easy to = get the=20 characters from the Starship Enterprise down to the planet = du=20 jour. Unfortunately it also made it easy to get the characters back = to the=20 Enterprise. As David Gerrolds explains: it is very hard to = create=20 dramatic tension if, at the first sign of a danger, Captain Kirk whips = out his=20 communicator and says "Scotty, save my ass!"

The Klingon ambush team/hideous alien space creature/whatever looks = sadly at=20 the Enterprise crew beaming to safety, taking the dramatic = tension with=20 them.

The Star Trek writers were forced to invent some new contrived reason = to=20 render the transporter unavailable for each script in order to rescue = dramatic=20 tension. Which got really old after happening five episodes in a = row.

Tunnel=20 Diode

A tunnel = diode is a=20 common electronic component. But its operating=20 principle contains that magic word "Quantum", beloved of writers of = technobabble=20 everywhere. Teachers explain how the things work by using a description = that is=20 almost, but not quite, 100% totally wrong. They say that electrons enter = in one=20 side and come out the other but do not pass through the space=20 between.

Which was close enough to teleportation for science fiction = authors.

I only mention this because it was popular in 1970's science fiction = and you=20 might run across it (e.g., "The=20 External Triangle" by George O. Smith). Just be aware that it is technobabble.

We Can=20 Rebuild You

With this method, you somehow convert the atoms of the intrepid = explorer's=20 body into radio waves (or tachyon beams, or something), beam them to the = destination, then somehow convert the radio waves back into matter.

In a variation on this method, a scanner records each atom's type, = position,=20 and energy state. The record is sent to the destination. There an = assembler uses=20 the record to reconstruct the traveler's body using a stockpile of = various=20 chemical elements. In some science fiction stories, the scanning process = vaporizes the traveler's body (e.g., Poul Anderson's The=20 Enemy Stars). In others, the scanning process is harmless, so the = traveler=20 is actually sending a duplicate while they stay at home (e.g., = Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson's Farthest=20 Star).

All of these methods open up jumbo-sized cans of screaming worms. = They have=20 some serious legal, ethical, and philosophical questions.

First off is the interference problem. What if the signal becomes = filled with=20 static? What arrives at the destination will probably be quite = dead.

Video clip from Star Trek: The Motion=20 Picture

Captain Kirk: "Starfleet, do you have them?"

Starfleet: "Enterprise, what we got back didn't = live long,=20 fortunately".

From Star=20 Trek: The Motion Picture (1979 )

Soon, troops, vessels, weapons and equipment were pouring through = the matter-transmitters in a flood. Not all of it arrived. Transmission = of matter was only one hundred percent assured of arrival intact up to ten = thousand miles. It diminished by one percent per twenty thousand miles beyond = that distance. As the Nerne were transmitting in terms of light-years, = their=20 losses were considerable. More often than not, soldiers, ships and = weapons=20 were reassembled in the reception chambers in a gruesome = conglomeration of=20 plastic, metal and Nerne flesh.

The species took these losses without comment or concern. They were = getting twenty percent through and the invasion force was growing hourly.

The technicians switched on the reception cubicles in the huge gasometer-like buildings and made ready to receive. The disposal = chutes were open, ready for the removal of loss. The technicians were not = entirely=20 without feeling, merely hardened by experience. The first twenty or = thirty=20 loads would be a mess; they always were.

From The Time = Mercenaries by=20 Philip E. High (1968)

From The Fly = (1958)
The Dixie Chicks after a teleporter = accident. From=20 Futurama: Bender's Game

Things can be much worse, as anybody who saw one of The=20 Fly movies knows. If a fly shares the transmat booth with you, what = arrives=20 at the destination can be a man with a fly head and a fly with a human = head. Or=20 a gruesome melding of the two.

Next problem, if it cannot be recorded, it cannot be recreated. I = don't mean=20 to go all metaphysical on you, but if you have something like a soul it = probably=20 ain't gonna be 3D printed at the destination. Which means you will be = dead, even=20 though there will be a remarkably realistic soulless replica of you = walking out=20 of the transmat booth.

3D"" — From Spock=20 Must Die! by James Blish (1970)

3D"" — From Spock=20 Must Die! by James Blish (1970)

Way Station

There were a lot of things, he told himself, that Man would have to = unlearn, as well as things to learn, if he ever should become aware of = the=20 galactic culture.

The limitation of the speed of light, for one thing.

For if nothing moved faster than the speed of light, then the = galactic=20 transport system would be impossible.

But one should not censure Man, he reminded himself, for setting = the speed=20 of light as a basic limitation. Observations were all that Man = =E2=80=94 or anyone,=20 for that matter =E2=80=94 could use as data upon which to base his = premises. And since=20 human science had so far found nothing which consistently moved faster = than=20 the speed of light, then the assumption must be valid that nothing = could or=20 did consistently move faster. But valid as an assumption only and no = more than=20 that.

For the impulse patterns which carried creatures star to star were = almost=20 instantaneous, no matter what the distance.

He stood and thought about it and it still was hard, he admitted to = himself, for a person to believe.

Moments ago the creature in the tank had rested in another tank in = another=20 station and the materializer had built up a pattern of it =E2=80=94 = not only of its=20 body, but of its very vital force, the thing that gave it life. Then = the=20 impulse pattern had moved across the gulfs of space almost = instantaneously to=20 the receiver of this station, where the pattern had been used to = duplicate the=20 body and the mind and memory and the life of that creature now lying = dead many=20 light years distant. And in the tank the new body and the new mind and = memory=20 and life had taken almost instant form =E2=80=94 an entirely new = being, but exactly=20 like the old one, so that the identity continued and the consciousness = (the=20 very thought no more than momentarily interrupted), so that to all = intent and=20 purpose the being was the same.

There were limitations to the impulse patterns, but this had = nothing to do=20 with speed, for the impulses could cross the entire galaxy with but = little lag=20 in time. But under certain conditions the patterns tended to break = down and=20 this was why there must be many stations =E2=80=94 many thousands of = them. Clouds of=20 dust or gas or areas of high ionization seemed to disrupt the patterns = and in=20 those sectors of the galaxy where these conditions were encountered, = the=20 distance jumps between the stations were considerably cut down to keep = the=20 pattern true. There were areas that had to be detoured because of high = concentrations of the distorting gas and dust.

Enoch wondered how many dead bodies of the creature that now rested = in the=20 tank had been left behind at other stations in the course of the = journey it=20 was making =E2=80=94 as this body in a few hours' time would lie dead = within this tank=20 when the creature's pattern was sent out again, riding on the impulse=20 waves.

A long trail of dead, he thought, left across the stars, each to be = destroyed by a wash of acid and flushed into deep-lying tanks, but = with the=20 creature itself going on and on until it reached its final destination = to=20 carry out the purpose of its journey.

From Way=20 Station by Clifford Simak (1963)

Finally, the transmat is actually a blasted object duplicator. A = subatomic=20 level 3D printer. What Star Trek calls a "replicator.= "=20 You see, you can send the radio signal to several transmats and the = traveling=20 object (or person) will pop out of each and every one. Even worse, you = can=20 record the radio signal so it can be re-used at a latter date. = And=20 incredibly worse, the recorded signal can be edited so = that the=20 resulting object (or person) is structurally different.

This opens up several more huge cans of worms.

First off, there is the basic fact that the=20 invention of a matter replicator will cause the utter collapse of the = global=20 economy. The collapse can be slightly less that "utter" if somebody = can=20 invent a substance that cannot be transmatted/replicated. Otherwise it = will be=20 impossible to have physical money which cannot be instantly = counterfeited.

But the ethical questions grow exponentially worse once you start = replicating=20 people

Star Trek tried to dodge this problem by saying people could not be=20 duplicated because of reasons (except those times w= hen=20 they could).

If you have two or more PFC Floyds, which one is legally the "real" = Floyd.=20 Which one gets his paycheck, which one is married to Mildred?

If you keep a recording of a Floyd transmatting, and one day Floyd = dies in an=20 accident, you could use the recording to bring him back to life. Can he = collect=20 on his own life insurance?

If transmatters are the kind where scanning destroys the original, = you send=20 Floyd to Mars, but then you just make a recording instead of sending the = signal=20 to a receiving transmat, are you guilty of kidnapping? Or murder, since = the=20 original is so much hot vapor? Does it stop being murder if you = replicate Floyd=20 before the trial?

If transmatters are the kind where scanning does not harm the = original, is it=20 ethical to use it to send a duplicate Floyd on a suicide mission? This = was=20 actually a common practice in the novel Farthest=20 Star. Officials talk you into volunteering for a painless suicide = mission,=20 painless because it won't be you who is actually dying. Step into the = transmat=20 then go home to your wife. Meanwhile your duplicate does the mission and = dies in=20 agony, spending their last breath cursing the day you were born.

In George O. Smith's Identity (the = final Venus = Equilateral=20 story) things are really vile. Legally the duplicate of a person is = property,=20 not a human being. So if a doctor wants to perform a tricky surgery on = you, they=20 will use the replicator to run off a dozen copies of you and practice on = them=20 til they all die. Then the doctor can do the surgery perfectly. In the = story=20 nobody cares that there really is no way to tell a duplicate from an = original.=20 Well, nobody but the duplicates of course, they object strongly to being = disposable.

Also in the Venus Equilateral stories, a recording can be edited. So = you can=20 make a recording of a cube of dirt, edit the recording, and use it to = replicate=20 cubes of solid gold.

Editing a recording gets more extreme in Farthest Star. They could = edit a=20 copy of you to make you a water breather or otherwise alter your = biochemistry=20 and body.

Stargates

With this technique, one makes two points in space contiguous = =E2=80=94 somehow.=20 Generally one of the types of Discontinuous=20 ("teleport-like") faster-than-light drives are used as a model. The = two=20 points might be brought together by folding=20 space in the fourth dimension. A wormhole=20 or Einstein-Rosen Bridge might be utilized.

The point is that unlike replicator-like transmats, these do not = change the=20 traveler. Instead they change the space in between the start and=20 destination.

A two-dimensional ant can travel = faster-than-light on a=20 long rug crumpled up in the third dimension.
Artwork by David=20 Povilaitis
From A Wrinkle in Time by = Madelein=20 L'Engle (1962)

The red ship takes the long way around in = conventional=20 3D space, the green ship takes a shortcut through the fourth dimension = taking=20 advantage of the fold.
From manga The Ideon - The Motion=20 Picture
A "Stargate" or wormhole opening in Flatland = will look=20 like a circle. A Stargate or wormhole opening in our 3D universe will = look=20 like a Sphere, not like a disc.
Artwork by David=20 Povilaitis

Weaponized=20 Transmats

The dreaded Aperture=20 Science Handheld Portal Device from the game Portal

Half of the reason that receiver-less=20 and transmitter-less transmats are so unreasonable is that they can = be used=20 to make some rather ugly and unstoppable weapons.

A receiver-less transmat can make a nuclear warhead unexpectedly=20 materialize close to an enemy warship. Or inside the warships = defensive force=20 fields. Or inside the warship itself. Heck, materializing a puny = hand=20 grenade inside the warship's CIC=20 will probably kill everybody in it and at least temporarily disable = the entire=20 ship. The same goes for assassinating the leader of a hostile nation = by=20 materializing a nuclear warhead inside their underwear or up a = convenient body=20 orifice.

A transmitter-less transmat can assassinating the leader of a = hostile=20 nation by making their still-beating heart appear in the transmat, = while the=20 rest of their body in the original location futilely tries to live = without=20 it.

A transmat that requires both transmitter and receiver can still be = pretty=20 nasty, if the transmitter can transmit something that is not actually in = contact, and the transmitter is small enough to fit in, say, a = rifle-sized long=20 arm.

In Mindbridge by=20 Joe Haldeman, a transmat transmitter is a special crystal. Some aliens = manage=20 to make a gun-like device with a tiny crystal, which will transmit = everything=20 inside a cylindrical volume about one centimeter in diameter and about = ten=20 meters long. Basically it acts like a disintegrator ray. It cuts a = long thin=20 tunnel in the target. In the novel the transmat needs no receiver, but = the=20 weapon will work just as will if need it. The receiver (where ever it = is) will=20 just have to be periodically hosed off to remove the cylinders of = armor, bone=20 and body tissue.

In The = Armageddon=20 Inheritance by David Weber, "warp rifles" have much the same = effect as the=20 Mindbridge weapons. Its just they send the cylinders into hyperspace. = Warp=20 grenades send into hyperspace anything within the "blast radius". If = you are=20 lucky, half of you will be inside and half out, killing you instantly. = If you=20 are not, you will find yourself floating in hyperspace with your = lifespan=20 limited to your oxygen supply. And nobody will ever find your = body.

In The = Universe=20 Between by Alan E. Nourse, researchers manage to anger being who = live in=20 another dimension by accidentally mutilating the other dimension. The = beings=20 retaliate by trying to remove the machine doing the mutilating. The=20 researchers start running around like their hair is on fire when = volumes the=20 size of city blocks start randomly vanishing all over New York = City.

In some science fiction stories, the operating principle of starships = faster-than-light drives are based on transmat technology. Occasionally = this can=20 be turned against the starship as a weapon.

In the wargame Starforce=20 Alpha Centauri the FTL engines of the starships are actually = psionic=20 women, who teleport the ships from star to star by using the power of = their=20 minds. As a weapon the psionic team can send a telepathic command (a = "combat=20 cast") to an enemy ship's psionic team, forcing them to make an = uncontrolled=20 teleport to an awkward location. Such jumps are typically five times = the=20 distance of a "safe" jump, so it will take the enemy ship a long time = to crawl=20 back to the battle. A ship's psionic team can divert part of their = power into=20 an "anti-cast" to try and mute an enemy's combat cast.

In War in = Heaven by David Zindell starships move by opening up wormhole = entrances=20 before them and moving through. The entrance location and destination = are=20 created through a metaphysical process that the pilot controls by = using=20 mathematical theorems. Whatever. The point is that in combat, the idea = is to=20 open a wormhole in front of your opponent that will teleport them to = the=20 surface of a sun or other deadly location.

On This Page

Introduction

Limitations

Conservation=20 Of Energy

Conservation=20 Of Momentum

Transmitter=20 And Receiver

Interpenetration

Other=20 Limits

Web=20 and Starship

The=20 Warbots

The=20 Time Mercenaries

Tunnel=20 in the Sky

Operating=20 Principle

Tunnel=20 Diode

We=20 Can Rebuild You

Stargates

Weaponized=20 Transmats

Psioni= cs=E2=96=B6

=E2=97=80Time= =20 Travel

Psioni= cs=E2=96=B6

=E2=97=80Time= =20 Travel

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Pre= liminary=20 Notes

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