It’s quantum, it’s chaotic, it makes for a great source for a random number generator, and there are already dozens of prototype circuits around the Internet.

The world’s first practical quantum random number generator (QRNG) will reportedly overcome weaknesses of current encryption, revolutionizing internet security.

Researchers have built the fastest random-number generator ever made, using a simple laser. It exploits fluctuations in the intensity of light to generate randomness—a coveted resource in ...

"We exploit this randomness of quantum-mechanical processes to generate random numbers," says Christoph Marquardt. The scientists use vacuum fluctuations as quantum dice.

There are many ways to generate random numbers, the most well-known of which can be traced back over thousands of years: for instance, a simple dice, or coin-flipping, provides unpredictable results.

Here we present a simple experimental setup based on homodyne measurements that uses the purity of a continuous-variable quantum vacuum state to generate unique random numbers.