Quantum systems are inherently random, so they offer a way to generate random numbers. In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast, our guest is Ramy Shelbaya who is who is chief executive ...

For example, it would be better to use a random-number generator that produces a sequence of zeros, ones, and twos and then ignores the zeros to give a sequence of just ones and twos.

The camera and LED are adjusted so that each pixel detects about 400 photons in a short exposure time. The photon numbers of all the camera pixels are combined in an “extractor” algorithm that outputs ...

[Giorgio]’s random number generator for this project is just a pair of resistors, with an op-amp buffer, amplifier, and current switch to turn analog data into a digital output of random 1s and 0s.

The invention “represents a major leap in performance of random-number generators”, says Krister Shalm, a physicist at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado.

The generation of random bit sequences based on non-deterministic physical mechanisms is of paramount importance for cryptography and secure communications. High data rates also require extremely ...