True Random Number Generator Goes Online

amigoro writes "A 'true' random number generator that relies on the unpredictable quantum process of photon emission has gone online providing academic and scientific community access to true random numbers free of charge."

Wow!

[by Anonymous Coward]

..BZT, qvq nalbar frr gung gb ertvfgre lbh unir
gb fbyir n zngu ceboyrz yvxr:

    qrevingvir bs (5*fva 3k +6pbf(-cv/2))

Avpr!

Urer vf n qverpg yvax gb gur trarengbe, lbh pna
qbjaybnq gur pyvrag sebz urer nf jryy:

uggc://enaqbz.veo.ue/

DEnaq Pbzznaq-yvar Hgvyvgl [i0.2, 2007-07-17]
Abgr 1: Pbzcvyrf haqre Ivfhny Fghqvb naq t++.
Abgr 2: Jvaqbjf rkrphgnoyr vapyhqrq.
Abgr 3: TAH Yvahk rkrphgnoyr vapyhqrq.

Re:Wow!

[Xiph1980 (944189)]

Too bad that's only ROT13:
Not really the hardest of encryptions to crack.

..OMG, did anyone see that to register you have
to solve a math problem like:

derivative of (5*sin 3x +6cos(-pi/2))

Nice!

Here is a direct link to the generator, you can
download the client from here as well:

http://random.irb.hr/ [random.irb.hr]

QRand Command-line Utility [v0.2, 2007-07-17]
Note 1: Compiles under Visual Studio and g++.
Note 2: Windows executable included.
Note 3: GNU Linux executable included.

Re:Wow!

[MillionthMonkey (240664)]

..OMG, did anyone see that to register you have to solve a math problem like:

derivative of (5*sin 3x +6cos(-pi/2))

7h15 15 345y. 6 * (05(-p1/2) = z3r0), 50 7h3 4n5w3r 15 ju57 15 * (05(3x).

|\/|y m07h3r (0u|d h4v3 d1ff3r3n71473d 7h47.

455FE10422CA29C4933F95052B792AB2

[ferrellcat (691126)]

Hey! It works!

Re:455FE10422CA29C4933F95052B792AB2

[Filter (6719)]

Step 1: 455FE10422CA29C4933F95052B792AB2
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Profit!!!

Re:455FE10422CA29C4933F95052B792AB2

[ari_j (90255)]

Thanks! Now, to put it to good use:

uint128_t rand() {
/* This number is guaranteed to be random. See http://random.irb.hr/ for details. */
return 0x455fe10422ca29c4933f95052b792ab2;
}

Wait...

[Icarus1919 (802533)]

Why do I keep getting 42?

Re:Wait...

[theantipop (803016)]

I don't know, but that's pretty improbable.

Re:Wait...

[Puff of Logic (895805)]

I don't know, but that's pretty improbable.

Nonsense. Million-to-one chances occur nine times out of ten!

Re:Wait...

[Lord Ender (156273)]

Actually, a random number generator isn't really random unless it is possible for it to generate the number 42 a thousand times in a row...

lava lamps at SGI

[TheGratefulNet (143330)]

when I think of random numbers, I can't help but remember the 'fishbowl' that had at SGI (mtn view) where an indycam was photo'ing some lavalamps and creating random seeds based on those images.

ah, SGI....

Re:lava lamps at SGI

[Richard W.M. Jones (591125)]

That would be Lavarand [wikipedia.org] from, oh, just 10 years ago [archive.org].

Rich

random.org ?

[by Anonymous Coward]

Hasn't random.org [random.org] done this for a while already? Perhaps they don't have academic backing, but I do believe they use numbers generated by atomic decay.

Re:random.org ?

[stinerman (812158)]

Indeed. First page:

RANDOM.ORG offers true random numbers to anyone on the Internet. The randomness comes from atmospheric noise, which for many purposes is better than the pseudo-random number algorithms typically used in computer programs. ...

The service has been operating since 1998 and was built and is being maintained by Mads Haahr who is a Lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland.

Re:random.org ?

[lawpoop (604919)]

I do believe they use numbers generated by atomic decay.

The site claims that

The randomness comes from atmospheric noise...

I wonder, how could you know that their numbers are truly random, as they claim?

Re:random.org ?

[psu_whammy (940612)]

You could, say, read up on the statistics [random.org] they give you. The site has all sorts of fun info on exactly how their RNG works, and daily stats on the randomness of the numbers presented.

Re:random.org ?

[AutumnLeaf (50333)]

I wonder, how could you know that their numbers are truly random, as they claim?

You can never know that. You can test "properties of randomness" and conclude "it looks random." But you have no way of knowing if that hopefully random sequence cross-correlates to a non-random sequence you haven't found, but that passes all of the tests.

On the other hand, there is no randomness like quantum randomness. So if you believe their bit-stream faithfully represents the source, then in this case you can feel pretty good about it.

Re:Here's what I do

[slickwillie (34689)]

I just checksum my Windows registry.

It's random enough for my purposes.

Don't misunderstand

[Icarus1919 (802533)]

True random number [wikipedia.org] generators have been around in hardware form for a while based on a number of different processes, not quantum only. But this is being offered to the community at large, who may not have the means to procure or pay for a hardware solution.

Re:Don't misunderstand

[TheRaven64 (641858)]

Don't Via C3 chips have a hardware random number generator, that uses quantum-level fluctuations in the chip (i.e. the kind of noise that most of the rest of the chip is specifically designed to try to avoid) to produce noise as output? Since these cost under $100, I can't see a researcher not being able to afford one. You obviously can't use this service for cryptography, since relying on someone else for your entropy is just asking for trouble.

quantum random number generators

[Wise Dragon (71071)]

This is neat but there have been other quantum random number generators online for years. This one by id Quantique springs to mind... [randomnumbers.info] I'm not sure what this new service provides that others don't. If you REALLY want secure random numbers you should buy a QRNG PCI card and make them yourself so you're the only one with a copy.

Re:quantum random number generators

[Rakishi (759894)]

You probably don't want to do that for a computer simulation running at a few ghz thou.

That's what grad students are for.

Other sources of true random numbers

[i_like_spam (874080)]

Atmospheric noise [random.org]
Lava lamps [lavarnd.org]
Radioactive decay [fourmilab.ch]
Entropy [hd.org]

An external random number generator?

[solevita (967690)]

Call me paranoid, but I think I'd rather use a local pseudo random number generator than an external true random generator. My security concerns associated with using a local pseudo random number generator are outweighed by my privacy concerns of contacting a third party every time I want to establish a SSH connection or use my credit card online.

Great for research though, of course.

close

[geekoid (135745)]

"Random" is a word used when an event has too many unknowns to reasonably no the outcome.

To use a very simple random event: Flipping a coin.

If you know all the variables, you will know what the outcome will be.
How heavy is the coin? what side is up at the moment of the flip? whats the air density? how hard was it flipped? etc. . .