Semiconductor Lasers Generate Better Random Numbers
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 15:07
in Physics & Chemistry
(PhysOrg.com) -- Random numbers -- numbers without any pattern -- are vital to many applications, such as computer simulations, statistics, and cryptography. There are many ways to generate them using unpredictable physical processes, including electric-signal noise and radioactive decay, but these methods cannot produce the quantities of numbers needed to keep up with the high data-processing rates of today's computers.