In the world of the TV series Star Trek, teleportation is just like taking the bus. You press a button – “beam me up!” – and suddenly you’re somewhere else entirely. It’s the most ordinary thing in the world.

The Star Trek series is, of course, science fiction. But in our real world, we have quantum computing, and in that context, teleportation is just as commonplace as it is in Star Trek. In fact, the concept of teleportation is one of the very foundations of quantum computing.

So is teleportation not science fiction after all?

In this article, I’ll explain what quantum computers are and what they can—and cannot—do. I’ll discuss how this new technology compares to the everyday computers we’ve been familiar with for decades.

And we’ll see whether teleportation is science fiction or a new reality.

Classical computers and Quantum computers

Since the emergence of quantum computers, the computers we use every day have been relegated to the “classical” category. We now have two types of computers: quantum and classical. And they work in different ways.

The foundation of classical computers: bits

The foundation of classical computers is the bit. This unit can have a value of 1 or 0 – true or false. It is one of two possibilities: binary.

Bits can be used to perform calculations through logical operations, known as binary logic. In electronics, we can use components such as transistors to assemble this binary logic into logical circuits: the classical computer.

The foundation of quantum computers: qubits

The smallest unit of a quantum computer is not the same as the bit in a classical computer. A quantum computer operates using something that is harder to imagine: a unit that can have two values at the same time. This is called a qubit, or a quantum bit.

You can also perform calculations with qubits, but this works fundamentally differently from classical bits. Instead of binary logic (where a bit is either 0 or 1), qubits utilize the principles of quantum mechanics. This enables quantum computers to perform parallel computations in a way that classical computers cannot match. Using quantum components, we can build quantum circuits that apply quantum logic and thus perform computations: the quantum computer.

Why a quantum computer

We have seen that a qubit can have two values at the same time. This also means that we can perform operations on both values of the qubit (called qubit states) simultaneously. With a classical bit, such parallel processing is not possible.

The parallelism in qubits is what gives the quantum computer its enormous speed. And the more qubits you use, the greater the advantage of this parallelism becomes.

For calculations that can take advantage of this property, the quantum computer is therefore much, much faster than a classical computer.

Quantum: Not a Panacea

In principle, a classical computer can solve any problem that is computable. The renowned mathematician Alan Turing, the British mathematician who cracked the German Enigma code during World War II, proved this as early as 1936. That was even before usable computers could be built. 

Unfortunately, a quantum computer is not as universally applicable as a classical computer. Quantum computers are particularly suited for specific problems that are difficult for classical computers to solve, such as:

• Cracking certain encryption algorithms (which also poses risks to cybersecurity).
• Logistics optimization, such as finding the most efficient routes for delivery services.
• Simulations of quantum systems, for example, for materials research or drug development.

These applications are often still in the experimental phase and require further development before they can be deployed at scale.

The quantum computer is not a panacea.

Hybrid computer: the best of both worlds

So, the quantum computer cannot replace the classical computer. We will continue to use classical computers for most of the applications we currently use them for. The quantum computer will be used for the specific applications in which it excels—in combination with classical computers.

So, that mysterious quantum computer with its qubits and strange properties is actually quite limited. Myth busted.

Teleportation: So what about that?

But what about that teleportation thing with the quantum computer? That sounds pretty fancy, doesn’t it?

We’ve seen that the basis of quantum computing is the qubit. A strange property of qubits is that you can link them together: you can put them into an “entangled” state. If you change one qubit in such an entangled pair, you also change the other qubit. And the surprising thing is: those entangled qubits can be located far apart from each other, and yet still influence each other.

You can change the state of a qubit and thereby directly influence the state of an entangled qubit at a distance: “Beam me up, Scotty!”

This is called quantum teleportation, but it involves only the transfer of quantum information (e.g., the state of a qubit), not the physical movement of matter. So it’s not the same as teleporting people in Star Trek. Moreover, quantum teleportation always requires a classical signal (e.g., via radio or cable) to complete the teleportation, meaning it cannot travel faster than light.

This isn’t true teleportation like in Star Trek. It’s about sending information, not moving people. And this quantum teleportation has even more limitations. But the researchers who studied the phenomenon enjoyed using it to grab attention and make the concept accessible. And they were successful at it, because we’re still talking about it today!

So, is it science fiction after all?

Quantum computing is real, and its potential is genuine. But it is not magic, and it is not imminent for most organizations.

The future is not quantum or classical – it is quantum and classical. Organizations will run hybrid environments where quantum processors handle specific computations, while classical systems manage everything else. The integration of these two worlds is where the real work will happen.

The quantum computer will not replace your classical infrastructure. What it will do is complement it, for the specific problems it solves best.

Beam me up? Not just yet.