A quantum cryptography system is the last thing you would expect to find in a sewage system. But under the streets of Vienna in Austria, a group of scientists has installed optical fiber and performed a quantum secure bank wire transfer.

"The exposure of the fibers to realistic environmental conditions such as stress and strain during installation, as well as temperature changes were important features of this experiment," Andreas Poppe and his colleague report in their paper. "The successful operation of the system shows that it works under laboratory conditions and a realistic quantum cryptography scenario."

By Jacqueline Hewett at Optics.

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