Quantum internet leaves the lab

Quantum information is notoriously fragile. Internet traffic is anything but. Yet Northwestern University scientists have demonstrated they can peacefully coexist inside the same fiber-optic cable. In a new study, researchers successfully sent entangled photons through a 24.4-kilometer fiber-optic cable connecting Evanston and downtown Chicago while the same cable simultaneously carried high-capacity internet traffic. Even amid the torrent of conventional data, the quantum signals remained remarkably intact — preserving entanglement with more than 94% fidelity. By allowing fragile quantum signals and powerful classical data streams to share the…