Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!henry From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) Newsgroups: net.crypt Subject: Re: Why no hardware random numbers? Message-ID: <5219@utzoo.UUCP> Date: Tue, 12-Mar-85 15:45:01 EST Article-I.D.: utzoo.5219 Posted: Tue Mar 12 15:45:01 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 12-Mar-85 15:45:01 EST References: <868@utcsri.UUCP> Organization: U of Toronto Zoology Lines: 13 > ... Why no hardware random numbers? Because it's hard to build a hardware random-number generator that will be unbiased and STAY unbiased. There are any number of things you can use as a source of random analog garbage -- I seem to recall that thermal noise in a suitable semiconductor is a reasonable choice -- but converting them into bits that are reasonably evenly distributed (and will stay that way without constant readjustment) is harder. Plus, there is minimal demand. The reproducibility of pseudorandom- number generators is a feature, not a bug, for most purposes. -- Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry