Fastest random number generator

The fastest random number generator generates quantum randomness at a rate of 250 trillion bits per second and was achieved by researchers led by Kyungduk Kim at the Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven and collaborators in France, Singapore, the UK and Ireland, as published in Science on 26 February 2021.

Random number generation is vital for encryption and information security but is hard to come by. Computer programmes that appear random at first often start to display patterns on larger scales. Quantum mechanics is required to create truly random data.

The researchers in this study used the quantum randomness of the way laser light intensity changes to generate random numbers at a rate of 250 trillion bits per second. This is around 100 times faster than the generators currently in use.