Reading Matt Parker’s book, Humble Pi, introduced me to a random number generator run by the Department of Quantum Sciences at Australian National University (ANU). The generator produces random numbers in real-time by measuring the quantum fluctuations of the vacuum.
Quote from the ANU QRNG (Quantum Random Number Generator) website:
The vacuum is described very
differently in the quantum physics and classical physics. In classical physics,
a vacuum is considered as a space that is empty of matter or photons. Quantum
physics however says that that same space resembles a sea of virtual particles
appearing and disappearing all the time. This is because the vacuum still
possesses a zero-point energy. Consequently, the electromagnetic field of the
vacuum exhibits random fluctuations in phase and amplitude at all frequencies.
By carefully measuring these fluctuations, we are able to generate ultra-high
bandwidth random numbers.
The QRNG will produce random colors, binary digits, dice
rolls, black and white pixels, and other variations of random outcomes on their
website.
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