
Stony Brook and Brookhaven Lab Transmit Entangled Photons Through Open Air in a First for U.S. Quantum Networking
Researchers at Stony Brook University and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have successfully transmitted entangled photons through open air across a 13-mile free-space optical link on Long Island, marking the first demonstration of its kind in the United States. The August 19 experiment adds a wireless component to a 161-mile fiber-optic quantum network that officials now describe as the nation’s largest, backed by a $300 million New York State investment in Stony Brook’s Quantum Innovation Hub. Key Takeaways Entangled photons traveled 13 miles (21 kilometers) through open air from Stony Brook University’s Quantum Watchtower to Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Quantum Lighthouse on August 19, 2026, at 12:26 a.m. ET. The free-space optical link integrates into an existing 161-mile, eight-node fiber-optic quantum network spanning Long Island and the New York metropolitan area. A third facility at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut has been completed; researchers are preparing a 30-mile entanglement link across Long Island Sound.







































