'Star Trek' teleportation style works on sub-atomic particles

Scientists at a university in Netherlands said it could be possible to beam people up -- a la Star Trek -- sometime in the future.

A team of researchers at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands recently demonstrated the ability to teleport information in sub-atomic particles between two points about 10 feet apart.

"What we are teleporting is the state of a particle," Ronald Hanson, a professor at the university, told Britain's Telegraph. "If you believe we are nothing more than a collection of atoms strung together in a particular way, then in principle it should be possible to teleport ourselves from one place to another.

"In practice it's extremely unlikely, but to say it can never work is very dangerous," he added. "I would not rule it out because there's no fundamental law of physics preventing it.

"If it ever does happen it will be far in the future."

Hanson said the feat would be a challenge.

"There's reason why nobody has done it yet," he said.