New Idea to Generate Random Numbers

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

On Tue, 18 Nov 1997 16:36:08 -0500, Edupage Editors wrote:

>RANDOMLY GROOVY
>Scientists at Silicon Graphics have taken the mesmerizing flow of the lava
>lamp to the next level of utility -- using the favorite fixtures of the '60s
>to generate truly random numbers, something computers cannot do.  The
>process involves using a digital camera to snap periodic shots of six oozing
>cylinders, combining those images with electronic noise and converting it
>into 1s and 0s, and then using the Secure Hash Algorithm from the National
>Institute of Standards and Technologies to compress and scramble the binary
>string to create a seed value for a standard random-number generator.
>(Scientific American Nov 97)

How do I implement this at home?  ;*)

- -- James F. Marshall, Esq., Pasadena, California
   Subject "JFM Public Key" for PGP Public Key

- -- OS/2 is to Windows as Stradivarius is to Yamaha

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2

iQCVAwUBNHJOjDbjGennrhqZAQG9egP/bC1wgxS3y+ce3/T+qNsg2uqNzBm3yLkN
W54kSEl+ou18wcdj0sYnsyD6hjJqFbte5jnZ72SKZmX5gufHJgbyadge4QiTwYe8
dbtAgg0R3ycY4Hb8CbCbE6KpWF5WHPs++WZ5oLQ0hCO5JcmK/e6AizxsW1nfR2hZ
cAN4xQui6nY=
=QgNJ
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

"James F. Marshall" <marshall@ibm.net> writes:

> On Tue, 18 Nov 1997 16:36:08 -0500, Edupage Editors wrote:
>
> >RANDOMLY GROOVY
> >Scientists at Silicon Graphics have taken the mesmerizing flow of the lava
> >lamp to the next level of utility -- using the favorite fixtures of the '60s
> >to generate truly random numbers, something computers cannot do.  The
> >process involves using a digital camera to snap periodic shots of six oozing
> >cylinders, combining those images with electronic noise and converting it
> >into 1s and 0s, and then using the Secure Hash Algorithm from the National
> >Institute of Standards and Technologies to compress and scramble the binary
> >string to create a seed value for a standard random-number generator.
> >(Scientific American Nov 97)
>
> How do I implement this at home?  ;*)

I've got a lava lamp as well as a wave machine.  I have grave doubts that
they're very random.  I think I see recurring patterns, making the bit
stream somewhat predictable.

---

Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps