Module 6: Statistics

6.1: Random Number Generation

Random numbers are useful in several circumstances. System simulation often wants to simulate random events and many cryptographic protocols rely on unguessable keys and tokens that need to be automatically generated somehow. One class of random number generators use physical or quasi-physical events. Radioactive decay is one possibility. In the 1950s, the RAND corporation used an “electronic roulette wheel” to generate a series of random numbers that was published as a book. Other “random” sources have been used with less success, such as the state of a computer. Usually, the random source needs additional processing.