Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere>
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Truly Random Numbers On A Quantum Computer??
Date: 29 Mar 2025 18:38:08 -0300
Organization: Bridgewater Institute for Advanced Study - Blacksmith Shop
Lines: 22
Sender: mds@enoch.nodomain.nowhere
Message-ID: <875xjrfrgf.fsf@enoch.nodomain.nowhere>
References: <vs73jc$3jepm$1@dont-email.me> <vs7a9c$3pg3k$1@dont-email.me> <86h63cys29.fsf@example.com> <wwv7c47dgh5.fsf@LkoBDZeT.terraraq.uk>
Injection-Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2025 22:38:10 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="b14fe9c40ae0dd23efd932bc1926ba59";
	logging-data="2440371"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+7lrjMRCqixw0zOtwk/0rUoODLKxNswh4="
Cancel-Lock: sha1:GYBXTPgh2Tgj3uOBV5I0MhMeAFE=
X-Clacks-Overhead: 4GH GNU Terry Pratchett
X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.7/Emacs 20.7


Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> writes:

> A lot of people are pushing QRNGs of various kinds right now. I've yet
> to be convinced, personally.

As a tech and math amateur, I made a setup to try to extract random
numbers from serial images of a plasma ball taken by a consumer-grade
web cam.  Really random stuff happening in there, right?  I never got
any results, despite experiments with various datum selection
strategies, image formats etc. that were any where near acceptable.

The concept still seems to me to be potentially usable, but
whaddoiknow? 

Talked to a guy at MIT in the 90s who was trying to extract random
numbers from the turbulence of gas surrounding a hard drive.  Never
learned the tech or theoretical details -- above my amateur pay
grade. 

-- 
Mike Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada