Star Trek technology is achievable

Con said:" They work....by reassembling them from the information and the original parts." Rebuttal: Indeed. The Star Trek version of the technology does not follow an entirely rational method. However, that is not the burden. Consider the round one established guideline: 'While the technology is inherently fictional, the function of the technology could be duplicated in the real world, including its practical application.'Nobody is claiming that teleportation should look, sound or behave exactly like the television show suggests. I said we could create a technology to mimic the function. _____________________ Con established: "They are able to send people through solid walls." Rebuttals: Shame! My opponent is not a Trekkie. According to the source, "the Transporter operations have been disrupted or prevented by dense metals, solar flares, and other forms of radiation, including electromagnetic and nucleonic radiation." [1] Additionally, had my opponent researched the show a little further, he would realize that the "science officer" is tasked with scanning for "cracks" or fissures within enclosed locations, so that the transporter room can get a "lock on the target". _____________________ Con claimed: ...Nor will it do to break them down at the molecular level since cells cannot pass through walls. Rebuttal: Astounding scientific prowess. The Human cell is approximately 10 micrometers in diameter. The average atom is aproximately .3 nanometers in diameter. There are 204 billion atoms in a single DNA molecule. [2]There are two DNA molecules per Chromosome.The average cell has 46 chromosomes inside it's nucleus. A cell is not a molecule. _____________________ Con believes: Breaking them down to the molecular level won't do because molecules cannot travel through barriers like we see on Star Trek. Rebuttal: Interesting theory. Not all molecules are equal. An Osmium Tetroxide (OsO4) molecule has more mass than a CO2 molecule. Stating that a molecule cannot pass through barriers is flagrantly false. Before we establish that a molecule cannot breach a barrier, you must first define the molecule and the barrier type. In the human body, CO2 is able to pass through the cell membrane with ease. That's how gas exchange works. Without this phenomenon, we would not breathe. Molecules can certainly pass through barriers, if the barrier is porous enough. Regardless, this is not part of the burden. I'm not tasked with convincing anyone that molecules pass through anything. Teleportation is defined by movement through "free space". As such, I'll limit my arguments to reality, not strawman objections. _____________________ Con claimed: Breaking the molecules down to atoms won't work either because atoms cannot pass through walls unless they are porous enough, and space ship walls need to be air tight. Rebuttal: Atoms can certainly pass through walls. The process is called quantum tunneling. [3]The process requires the use of a laser. The beam heats the surface of a solid object and excites the molecules. The objective atom is able to push through the surface by displacing the electrons in its path. Essentially, the atom is "beamed" through the wall. _____________________ Con said: " The information required to record everything about a person is prohibitive." Rebuttal: The Human genome project began in 1990 on an IBM 468, with 32 Mhz of amazing processing power. The project was completed almost a decade ago in 2003. Information storage is not the problem, unless you assume Computer technology to suddenly stop advancing. [5] IBM estimates a quantum processor PC will be market available within 10 years. The technology is already invented, the company is now designing the platform. As per the source, " a 250-qubit system contains more bits of information than there are atoms in the universe. In contrast to a traditional bit, which can either have the value "0" or "1", a qubit (Quantum bit) can have "0","1" and both values at the same time." [6] _____________________ Con said:" To preserve the person, all of the information in the brain must be accurately recorded and transmitted. If anything is missing, it could affect a person's cognitive functions, including their memories, personality, and bodily functions." Rebuttal: The implications of your argument dive into metaphysics and religion. The human brain is a collection of chemicals and proteins. Personality is based on genetic predisposition and experience. One is hard-wired into the DNA, the other is a flexible pathway in the brain, built by chemical interactions and firing neurons. As long as the brain is rematerialized exactly the same way, we should assume the "personhood" will remain intact. We simply cannot conclude that the personality and memory would be lost, unless my opponent is hinting at the presence of a "soul". Memories and behavior are directly tied to physical structures and chemical interactions. Claiming that the memories would be lost is an assumption based on religion, not science. _____________________ Con argued: My opponent explained some of the research in tele transportation, but none of them overcomes the problems I've raised. The article in The Independent explains how information was transported using quantum entanglement. No substance was transmitted. Rebuttal: Before the candle was invented, someone discovered fire. The debate topic is not concerned with "what hasn’t been discovered". We are debating "if it can be discovered". Your rebuttal argues that transportation is impossible because success has been limited to photon packets. By that logic, the cell-phone should be impossible because the radio was once considered the peak of wireless technology. _____________________ Con Stated: The Chinese were only able to create a replication, not a transportation. Rebuttal: I suggest my opponent procures a copy of the Star Trek technical manual. The food replicator technology is the same technology used in the transporter. Every transported object is a replicated object in the Star Trek Universe. The transporter does not need to use the exact same matter for re-materialization. It just requires equal matter. As stated above, the re-materialized matter must be equal to the dematerialized matter. Assuming that the personhood is lost in the process assumes the presence of supernatural aspects to the human person, such as a soul or spirit. _____________________ Con argued: "...if you read the article, the 100 atoms were not actually transported...None of these experiments are relevant to Star Trek transporters." Rebuttal: Again, incorrect. The study showed that solid matter could be dematerialized on one end, and rebuilt on the other end using equal matter (not the same, but equal). That is the exact operating principle of a Star Trek transporter, including the transfer of information on a photon packet. Hence the term, "beam me up". All arguments extended. _____________________ Round three Arguments: Manipulation of the Higgs Boson field – While the idea is raw, unrefined and purely speculative, it is by all reason possible to manipulate the Higgs field to de-materialize an object into energy. Many problems would need to be overcome, such as "how" to manipulate the Higgs field without super-heating it and re-materialization. [7] http://en.wikipedia.org...(Star_Trek) [1] http://michaelgr.com... [2] http://www.livescience.com... [3] http://news.sciencemag.org... [4] http://en.wikipedia.org... [5] http://www.tomshardware.com... [6] http://www.msnbc.msn.com... [7]http://www.msnbc.msn.com... [8]