You’ve probably been asked by an amateur musician or perhaps just a friend that was having a bit of fun to choose a number between one and ten. This might seem like a random number, but the parameters make it very easy to guess what number you are going to choose. If you remove these parameters you might start to think that these numbers are now going to be thoroughly random but the truth of the situation is that human beings tend to think of random numbers in a sequence, or use some kind of logic to come up with the numbers even if we don’t initially realize the source of this logic all in all.
This might not seem that big of an issue, but internet security as well as other forms of tech security rely quite a bit on the generation of random numbers. The problem with this is that if a malicious actor has access to significant computing power, said malicious actor might just be able to crack the encryption that has been used to secure a particular set of data and this can prove to be extremely dangerous if you are not careful about what is happening.
Hence, it is obviously going to be extremely important for any scientist and engineer to try and figure out a way to come up with random numbers that does not come from any preexisting sequence that can be determined in any way shape or form. There are a lot of techniques that scientists can use in order to try and meet this end, and one technique in particular that can be found to be useful in this regard is looking at places where randomness truly does exist, and there is no place that is more truly random than nature itself.
Chemistry in particular is quite unpredictable and random to a certain extent. The formation of crystals is something that usually happens in a completely different way each and every time, to the point where it can be impossible to predict how the crystallization process is going to occur. Scientists have now started using this to try and create a completely random set of numbers, one that cannot be predicted in any way, shape or form.
The way this works is that the crystals will be analyzed by a camera, and their shapes will be converted into binary code. This code can then be used for encryption related purposes, and it’s fair to say that cracking this encryption is going to be a great deal harder than what you would have found with the current pseudorandom techniques that are being used.
Read next: Hardware Security Was Embedded In One-Third of the Smartphones Sold In 2019: Report
This might not seem that big of an issue, but internet security as well as other forms of tech security rely quite a bit on the generation of random numbers. The problem with this is that if a malicious actor has access to significant computing power, said malicious actor might just be able to crack the encryption that has been used to secure a particular set of data and this can prove to be extremely dangerous if you are not careful about what is happening.
Hence, it is obviously going to be extremely important for any scientist and engineer to try and figure out a way to come up with random numbers that does not come from any preexisting sequence that can be determined in any way shape or form. There are a lot of techniques that scientists can use in order to try and meet this end, and one technique in particular that can be found to be useful in this regard is looking at places where randomness truly does exist, and there is no place that is more truly random than nature itself.
Chemistry in particular is quite unpredictable and random to a certain extent. The formation of crystals is something that usually happens in a completely different way each and every time, to the point where it can be impossible to predict how the crystallization process is going to occur. Scientists have now started using this to try and create a completely random set of numbers, one that cannot be predicted in any way, shape or form.
The way this works is that the crystals will be analyzed by a camera, and their shapes will be converted into binary code. This code can then be used for encryption related purposes, and it’s fair to say that cracking this encryption is going to be a great deal harder than what you would have found with the current pseudorandom techniques that are being used.
"We have shown that the large entropy pool present during compound formation and crystallization is able to be accessed and utilized in the creation of a random number generator. We also found that the deficit from maximum entropy of the strings generated by each chemical reaction is not identical, suggesting that this may be a useful means of comparing entropy created during different chemical reactions.", revealed a new study published in Matter journal. Adding further, "In practice, this feature may be miniaturized and incorporated into computer hardware as a monolithic sealed device in which crystallization is temperature controlled, allowing for repeated cycles of random number generation. Such a sealed device could be embedded in conventional electronic computers, allowing access to a powerful and convenient random number generator powered by chemical processes."
Read next: Hardware Security Was Embedded In One-Third of the Smartphones Sold In 2019: Report
