 |
| Development of the fastest laser-based random number generator |
An international team of scientists has developed a laser that can generate 254 trillion random numbers per second, 100 times faster than a computerized random number generator (RNG).
Although generating random numbers has been around for thousands of years, it is becoming increasingly important in computing as it forms the basis of cryptography.
With more devices online than ever before, the need for faster encryption to avoid bad items is becoming increasingly important.
Computer simulations of complex systems (like Earth's climate or stock market) also require a lot of random numbers to properly capture the actual events.
Regarding the general demand for computerized random number generators in modern technology, Google has shown the clear advantages of using a 53 qubit quantum computer based on the problem of computerized random number generator.
For this reason, the new system can be a game-changer as it can generate 250 terabytes of random bits per second.
And the speed is so high that the team behind it worked hard to record its output with a high-speed camera - more than 254 trillion random numbers per second.
The researchers said the system was superior to physical random number generators in terms of speed and the ability to generate multiple bit streams simultaneously.
The results have been published in the journal Science. The new invention uses a laser as small as one millimeter in length and reflects light between mirrors at the ends of the hourglass cavity before exiting the device.
Unlike previous laser systems, the new method can amplify several lighting conditions simultaneously.
These factors interfere with each other and lead to rapid fluctuations in intensity, which the team recorded with a camera that measured the intensity of light at 254 points on the beam for every trillionth of a second.
However, due to the speed at which the laser pump data is transferred, the camera can only track the data for a few seconds before the storage space fills up before the data is downloaded to the computer.
The random number generator system was jointly developed by researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Yale University and Trinity College Dublin and manufactured by Nanyang Technological University.
For the future of the system, the team would like to put the laser into action by integrating the laser into an integrated chip and feeding the resulting random number directly into the computer.