[ExI] Does the Star Trek transporter kill people?

[BillK]

On Fri, 29 Oct 2021 at 01:50, spike jones via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
>
> >... Ben Zaiboc via extropy-chat
> Subject: Re: [ExI] Does the Star Trek transporter kill people?
>
> >...The answer is No.
> ...
> Ben
> _______________________________________________
>
>
> Cool so if Kirk beams down with a big steaming pizza in his hand, it isn't
> considered wasting food.
>
> spike
> _______________________________________________


The transporter must be copying *everything* inside the transport
cylinder shape, right down to the elementary level of energies and
position of sub-atomic particles like quarks, leptons and bosons.
i.e. not just living matter, otherwise no objects like clothes,
weapons, etc. could be transported. This must include the surrounding
air molecules, viruses, insects, etc.  The transporter must also be
able to clear and push aside the contents of a receiving cylinder area
at the destination point.
Hopefully not inside a T-rex or just in front of a bulldozer.
All in all, it's a neat trick, if it can ever be possible.

If the copying can be done without destroying the original, then the
transporter becomes a factory 3D printer creating unlimited copies of
anything. This seems to me to be unlikely, as the inventor could fill
the world with copies of him/herself. Not a problem for Spike, of
course, but I can see how some people would consider this to be a
problem.  :)

A scanner with this level of detail must also be able to be used for
medical purposes. Removing cancer cells, tumors, cosmetic blemishes,
etc. Probably the first use, before transportation.



BillK