-1

I know that for most programs, a pseudo-random number is sufficient but there are ways that machines can generate truly random numbers. For example, devices that generate unpredictable processes. But, they tend to be biased somehow. So, is it possible to use or make devices that can generate unpredictable processes and being unbiased?

gnat
  • 6,213
  • 108
  • 53
  • 73
Monther
  • 3
  • 3
  • This link might help you. In the start of the video, he talks in brief about generating true random numbers. https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-science/cryptography/crypt/v/random-vs-pseudorandom-number-generators – AKSingh Mar 19 '21 at 06:36
  • 2
    You can "unbias" the numbers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randomness_extractor, if they're good enough for applications with billion dollars at stake, I'd say they're good enough for almost anything. – Martheen Mar 19 '21 at 07:10
  • What do you mean by 'truly random'? (this isn't a trick question) – AakashM Mar 19 '21 at 09:28
  • I don't think the question is essentially about "true" random numbers. It's about turning a stream of random numbers that are in one distribution and creating a stream of independent p=0.5 bits. I think Martheen's comment is a good answer. – Paul Hankin Mar 19 '21 at 09:38
  • https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1986859/unbiased-random-number-generator-using-a-biased-one is a specific example. – Paul Hankin Mar 19 '21 at 09:39
  • Does this answer your question? [How to get truly random data, not random data fed into a PRNG seed like CSRNG's do?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62375129/how-to-get-truly-random-data-not-random-data-fed-into-a-prng-seed-like-csrngs) – Peter O. Mar 19 '21 at 10:09

1 Answers1

2

Yes. You can buy cards or USB devices to plug into your computer that use physical effects, such as quantum mechanics, to generate true random numbers. A simple Geiger counter would be an example, though commercially available devices are more complex with a higher bit rate.

Google "Quantis RNG" for some examples.

rossum
  • 15,344
  • 1
  • 24
  • 38