The unpredictability of quantum mechanics helped create a unique random number generator

For many years, computer scientists have been searching for a way to generate truly random numbers. The thing is

that the random number generator usedon most home and work computers, it is far from «random» due to hardware limitations. Generating such numbers is important - it forms the basis of cryptography. Messages encoded using data that is not truly random can be hacked if there is sufficient computing power. In a new paper, researchers turned to the quantum world to create a truly random number generator.

In unlike the world around usnature, in the quantum world there are examples of true randomness—for example, the unpredictable nature of the behavior of photons. Scientists have found a way to exploit this unpredictability in cryptography.

The development consists of a laser directedto one of the inputs of a conventional beam splitter; the other entry is left blank. This resulted in a zero signal. During the experiment, the output beam was measured by two independent detectors. In their setup, each of the photons incident on the beam splitter had an equal probability of being transmitted or reflected. This means that the difference between the measurements made by the detectors cannot be predicted. Because of this, the resulting numbers were truly random.

Then the researchers took it a step furtherin his work, measuring the states of protons before their splitting. This confirmed that the numbers generated by their device were indeed random. The end result was a device capable of generating random numbers at a rate of 8.05 gigabits per second, each of which was guaranteed to be random—and all in real time. What is noteworthy is that the device itself is manufactured using standard equipment.

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Beam splitter (beam splitter) - opticala device that divides the stream of light into two parts. As such, the beam splitter can be considered as the main structural element of interferometers, some rangefinders, etc.

The simplest beam divider is a transparent glass placed in the path of the light flux at an angle of 45 °.

unit of measure for the amount of binary information. It is used to estimate the speed of information transmission in digital networks.

1 gigabit is equal to 1 billion bits.