Genuinely random numbers are important in several fields, but classical computers cannot create them. The best they can do is to generate apparently random or “pseudorandom” numbers. Randomness is ...

These photons are then measured to produce a string of truly random numbers. (Image credit: Shalm/NIST) Lotteries, accidents and rolls of dice — the world around us is full of unpredictable events.

A method based on quantum physics produces strings of numbers that are truly unpredictable. Credit: Flavio Coelho/Getty. The outcome of quantum experiments is intrinsically unpredictable.