Fwd: Physics News Update 605 - liquid crystal random number generator

[Charles McElwain]

>Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 14:27:56 -0400
>From: physnews at aip.org
>Subject: Physics News Update 605
>
>PHYSICS NEWS UPDATE
>The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Physics News
>Number 605  September 18, 2002   by Phillip F. Schewe, Ben Stein, and James
>Riordon
>
>[...]
>FAST, CHEAP RANDOM NUMBERS.   The keys needed to encrypt credit card
>transactions and other crucial information floating in cyberspace often rely
>on an infusion of random numbers.  Generating true random numbers is
>actually harder than it seems since the generation process generally follows
>some deterministic algorithm, permitting the possible reappearance of
>unwanted predictability.  James Gleeson, a physicist at Kent State
>University (330-672-9592, gleeson at physics.kent.edu) has come up with a
>cheap, fast solution.  He shoots laser light into a sample of liquid
>crystals.  But because the sample is subject to a turbulent flow, causing
>haphazard fluctuations in the orientation of the liquid crystals, the
>digitized transmitted light coming from the sample represents a stream of
>random numbers.   Gleeson believes that because his device depends on
>standard liquid-crystal-display technology, his compact device can be used
>for many processes requiring random-number generation.  (Applied Physics
>Letters, 9 September 2002.)
>
>***********
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