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Construction of what would be the world’s longest suspension bridge is scheduled to begin this year, according to the Italian government.

The bridge between the island of Sicily and the Italian mainland would cross over the Strait of Messina, a distance of 3,300 meters, though the construction has to grapple with tectonic activity that could cause earthquakes.

But one key challenge stands in the way: speed.

To be reliable, quantum computers must perform calculations and error corrections before their fragile quantum bits, or qubits, lose coherence.

Now, MIT researchers have built a new superconducting circuit that could dramatically speed up this process.

Scientists are working to send quantum information through existing fiber networks. This shift could save billions in infrastructure costs and speed up the arrival of quantum-powered technologies.

Unlike regular data, quantum communication sends information through single photons. These photons hold fragile quantum states that are easy to disturb. That makes sharing fiber lines with classical Internet traffic a serious technical challenge.

Classical signals, especially those powered by lasers, flood the fiber with light. This generates a kind of noise called inelastic scattering. One type, known as spontaneous Raman scattering, floods the line with stray photons that can drown out the quantum signals.

It inspired further work — mathematicians like Sophie Germain had previously contributed techniques (notably the “Sophie Germain trick” for special primes), and Dirichlet’s work continued the trend of applying novel number-theoretic tools.


(/ ˌ d ɪər ɪ ˈ k l eɪ / ; [ 1 ] German: [ləˈʒœn diʁiˈkleː] ; [ 2 ] 13 February 1805 – 5 May 1859) was a German mathematician. In number theory, he proved special cases of Fermat’s last theorem and created analytic number theory. In analysis, he advanced the theory of Fourier series and was one of the first to give the modern formal definition of a function. In mathematical physics, he studied potential theory, boundary-value problems, and heat diffusion, and hydrodynamics.

Although his surname is Lejeune Dirichlet, he is commonly referred to by his mononym Dirichlet, in particular for results named after him.