爆走黑料

This project will be based at Measurement Standards Laboratory (Lower Hutt), supervised by Dr Vladimir Bubanja (VUW supervisor Professor Ben Ruck). Random numbers are an essential resource in science and technology. Existing computational random number generators (RNGs) that produce apparently random sequences are in fact completely determined by an initial seed, so they are pseudo-random (or deterministic) RNGs. By contrast, true (or non-deterministic) RNGs rely on physical phenomena that are expected to be random. A particular true RNG example, relying on the inherent randomness of quantum mechanics, is the quantum random number generator (QRNG). Possible implementations include detecting the “path choice” of a single polarized photon passing through a polarizing beam splitter, or on the stochastic properties of quantum tunnelling. In this project, the output data from several pseudo-RNGs and QRNGs will be compared and subjected to statistical tests of randomness. This project is for a single student.