Do you ever wonder what it would be like to teleport? To arrive anywhere in the world in just seconds? Well, scientists are working on it right now. The idea of teleportation has been used in many science fiction books and films, but now it has been pulled into the real world. Physicists are focusing on something known as "quantum teleportation", which is the transfer of information rather than matter.
Quantum teleportation is like taking the information from the atom, destroying it, and sending that information to another place where it is put into another atom, creating an almost exact copy of the original atom. Though there are slight differences, these are very minor and pretty much change nothing that really matters. It is impossible to create an exact copy of something according to the uncertainty principle, which states that you cannot find the exact location and momentum of an object. In other words, if you pinpoint the exact location of an object, you have to show the momentum in a range of numbers, and vice versa. A way to think about it is putting an atom in a 3D fax machine, and faxing the information to a different place where it is put in a different atom. The old copy is then destroyed. When you fax a paper the information is exactly the same; however, it isn't the same paper or the same ink, so it is slightly different, but not in a way that affects it at all. This is like quantum teleportation.
But, how does quantum teleportation really work? The whole thing depends on something called "quantum entanglement". Quantum entanglement is when the original atom "entangled" with another atom, or acts as if they were one and the same. The original copy transports all its information to the other atom, which sends it to the place where the atom is being teleported. Eventually, the entanglement destroys both of the atoms. Meanwhile, another atom receives that information in the place and forms an approximate copy of the original, with very minor changes. Since the original copy was destroyed, there is no risk of running into "another you"! Physicists have been able to teleport atoms about half a meter, and photons over tens of kilometers.
Now, you may be thinking, "What about people? Will we ever be able to teleport them?" The answer is yes. It is possible to teleport a human without violating any of the laws of physics. The person won't be an exact copy, but, as mentioned above, it will make a very minor difference, but not in a biologically important way. We already have 3D fax machines, so it is pretty much like that. A human is made up of trillions of atoms, about 10 raised to the power of 28, so it is physically impossible to get an exact copy. There are just too many atoms. All this teleportation stuff is based on theory though- it is technically possible, but many scientists don't think it is going to happen- especially in the near future.
Bibliography: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/10/10/human.teleportation/