[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Burt

Yes I know that the idea of having the whole human body along with all the DNA and everything else turned in to digital format would take...just a huge amount of computer space. But they seem to be able to do it.

Such are the advantages of not really existing. Like Nate, I highly recommend Krauss's The Physics of Star Trek. It's a great read, and it devotes a chapter to the problems with transporters, making so many points that his case ends up being utterly devastating. (The problem you mention, storage capacity, is actually the only one Krauss concedes could be solved.) He's also done a sequel, Beyond Star Trek, which addresses science issues in other franchises. The first chapter, "Choose Your Poison," is a hoot and a half -- he comes up with several ways the massive alien ships in Independence Day would have killed everyone without needing any laser beams.