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Path: utzoo!watmath!wateng!pdbain
From: pdbain@wateng.UUCP (Peter Bain)
Newsgroups: net.crypt
Subject: Re: Why no hardware random numbers?
Message-ID: <2139@wateng.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 12-Mar-85 16:09:33 EST
Article-I.D.: wateng.2139
Posted: Tue Mar 12 16:09:33 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 13-Mar-85 00:15:10 EST
References: <868@utcsri.UUCP>
Reply-To: pdbain@wateng.UUCP (Peter Bain)
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 24
Summary: 

In article <868@utcsri.UUCP> outer@utcsri.UUCP (Richard Outerbridge) writes:
>
>So, why do so few supposedly modern computers include a hardware random number
>generator?  I mean really, every decent library includes at least one flawed-in
>one-way-or-another pseudo-random generator so its not as though its an esoteric
>application.  Why no hardware random numbers?
>-- 

The Ferranti Ferret (I believe), one of the very early machines (made in
Canada) had a hardwired random number generator, specifically a gas tube
in a magnetic field. The problem with this type of random number generator
is that the sequence of values you get is irreproducible, which can be
a real drag if you are doing simulations and want to check your results,
or you want to try two different algorithms on the same sequence of
numbers. The problem of software random number generation has been well
studied, it's just that a lot of people go off and do it themselves without
knowing what they are doing...
	-peter
-- 
   - peter bain
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