Science 323, 486–489 (2009)

Real-world teleportation takes a particle's fuzzy quantum state and transposes it onto a neighbour. It's a tricky business because direct handling of quantum information can destroy it.

Steven Olmschenk of the University of Maryland, College Park, and his colleagues solve that problem using ytterbium ions (Yb+) and a trick of the light. The researchers begin with two ions: one in a quantum state and the second, a 'blank', placed about a metre away. They stimulated each ion to release a photon and then use the photons to quantum mechanically entangle the two ions together. Several circumspect measurements then transpose the state of the original Yb+ onto its blank partner.

The team's technique may someday allow long-distance quantum communication.