National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) scientists have created the first random number generator that uses quantum entanglement, providing traceable and certifiable confirmation that the numbers generated are truly random.
Once considered unattainable, certifiable systems that generate a truly random outcome could play a critical role in digital security and allow auditors to select a truly random sample for analysis.
A ‘Traceable and Certifiable’ Random Number Generator via Quantum Entanglement
When discussing the possibility that nature was not predictable but random, famed scientist Albert Einstein said, “God does not play dice with the universe.” Since then, quantum physics has proven Einstein wrong by revealing activities in the sub-atomic world that can truly be random. Still, tapping into the properties of these extremely small particles to generate a random number that can also be traced and certified has proven elusive.
Traditional computer systems have created several ‘faux’ random number generators that provide a seemingly unpredictable result. However, according to a statement from the NIST scientists announcing their published research, someone who knew enough about the system or its program “could manipulate it or predict the next number.” Krister Shalm, a NIST physicist, agreed, noting that the predictability of these pseudo-random systems means they are not truly random, and that true randomness “is something that nothing in the universe can predict in advance.”
Hoping to ‘play with God’s dice’ and build a system that generates a truly random result that is traceable and certifiable, the scientists once again turned to the quantum world. If successful, they believe that using quantum entanglement, a process where a change to one entangled particle affects the other regardless of distance, which Einstein referred to as spooky action at a distance, could offer society-wide benefits.
“If God does play dice with the universe, then you can turn that into the best random number generator that the universe allows,” Shalm said. “We really wanted to take that experiment out of the lab and turn it into a useful public service.”
CURBy, the Bell Test, and the Twine Protocol
To start, the NIST team reached out to colleagues at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Colorado University Randomness Beacon (CURBy). CURBy uses a process called the Bell Test to generate a daily series of random numbers that are distributed for free online.
First, a pair of entangled photons is generated inside a nonlinear crystal. These entangled photons travel along optical fibers to two separate labs where their polarization is measured. The researchers say this “truly random” process is repeated 250,000 times a second.
After the entangled photon’s polarization is measured, these results are sent to a computer at the University of Colorado at Boulder. That system uses “special processing steps and strict protocols” to turn them into 512 random binary pairs (1s and 0s). Although this random number generator has proven a success, the NIST team wanted to add the previously elusive ability to trace and certify each step along the way. The result is a system they call the Twine protocol.
Built on the highly secure blockchain technology, the Twine protocol is described as “a novel set of quantum-compatible blockchain technologies that enable multiple different entities to work together to generate and certify the randomness from the Bell test.” That’s because the Twine protocol marks each set of data with a ‘hash.’ These digital fingerprints are at the heart of blockchain technologies’ secure, traceable, and certifiable nature.
Jasper Palfree, a research assistant on the project at the University of Colorado Boulder, said the Twine protocol allows any user to verify the data behind each randomly generated number. He says the Twine protocol can also be expanded so other random number generators can join the ‘hash graph,’ resulting in a “network of randomness” that no single individual controls.
“The Twine protocol lets us weave together all these other beacons into a tapestry of trust,” Palfree explained.
“This is the first random number generator service to use quantum nonlocality as a source of its numbers, and the most transparent source of random numbers to date,” the researchers explain. “That’s because the results are certifiable and traceable to a greater extent than ever before.”
Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.