The allure of quantum computers is, at its heart, quite simple: by leveraging counterintuitive quantum effects, they could perform computational feats utterly impossible for any classical computer.

A quantum machine has used entangled qubits to generate a number certified as truly random for the first time, demonstrating a handy function that's physically beyond even the most powerful ...

When a computer generates a “random” number, it goes through certain algorithms that will allow it to come up with that number, which means it wasn’t really random after all. Random numbers are ...

Using a 56-qubit quantum computer, researchers have for the first time experimentally demonstrated a way of generating random numbers from a quantum computer and then using a classical supercomputer ...

A new network paradigm can generate meaningfully random numbers—and fast. In network encryption, randomness has huge value because it’s not “solvable” by hackers. Classical computers can’t be ...

A team of international scientists has developed a laser that can generate 254 trillion random digits per second, more than a hundred times faster than computer-based random number generators (RNG).

In computer security, random numbers are crucial values that must be unpredictable—such as secret keys or initialization vectors (IVs)—forming the foundation of security systems. To achieve this, ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

A new approach to generating truly random numbers could lead to improved Internet security and better weather forecasts, according to researchers. A new approach to generating truly random numbers ...