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From: steven@hp-lsd.UUCP (steven)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Re: matter transmission, etc.
Message-ID: <10000003@hplsdlu.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 21-Oct-85 13:18:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: hplsdlu.10000003
Posted: Mon Oct 21 13:18:00 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 23-Oct-85 06:29:03 EDT
References: <587@h-sc1.UUCP>
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>but's (sorry for the cliche).  (sigh, let me repeat myself) There is an
>absoulte, lower limit on the accuracy with which one can measure both
>the position and momentium of any particle (an electron).  Specifically,
>the uncertainty (product of uncertainty of position and uncertainty of
>momentum) can be no less than h (Planc's constant).  One can not hope to
>reproduce the state of a human brain since doing so would require
>reporducing electric impulses and energy states of atoms/molucules.  It

This is not quite the right way to look at it.  The electron does not
_have_ a position and momentum within an uncertainty of less than h.
All it has is a wave function.  If this wave function can be reproduced
exactly, the resulting particle has the same distribution of positions
and momentums as the original.  The uncertainty principle states that
this wave function is the best model we can possibly have for the
particle and therefore contains all the information we can have about
it.  If the original particle behaved differently than the duplicate,
then that would give us more information about it than was contained in
its wave function.  Actually, the position will only be the same
relative to a translated frame of reference if any transportation is to
take place, and differences in electromagnetic fields and such will not
allow exact duplication of wave functions, but the resultant changes would
probably be less than those that would occur in the original in a small
fraction of a second of passing time anyway.  Any other form of travel
would result in much greater changes between the departing and arriving
people, except that the changes would have been continuous.  Also, while
we are discussing the effects of quantum mechanics, if the copy came
out scrambled, I could point out that there was a small probability
that the original would have scrambled itself also.  I still agree that
matter transmission is not feasible with current knowledge.

                                Steven Sharp