Unpicking Random Number Generation and its Real-World Applications

Surprisingly, random number generation is a commonly used kind of technology, but few of us genuinely understand how it works. Despite its numerousreal-world applications, most people have never considered how it’s possible to generate a truly random number. So, let’s delve into exactly how true and pseudo-random number generators work - then we’lltake a look at some of the industries that use them the most often.

How Does Random Number Generation Work?

The first step to understanding random number generators is knowing that there are two different kinds: true random number generators (TRNGs) and pseudo random number generators (PRNGs). PRNGs are much more commonly used, as there’s a whole lot less power that goes into them, but TRNGs still have real-world applications. Let’s have a look at how they both work.

True Random Number Generators

TRNGs rely on natural events in order to generate their random number. These random events could be any number of different things: avalanche noise, radioactive decay, and even the amplified sounds from electrical circuits. The key piece of information is that all of the events relied on must be totally random, or chaotic. This ensures that every number that’s generated is truly random, hence the name.

Pseudo-Random Number Generators

A much cheaper, quicker, and more efficient way of generating random numbers is with software. However, these numbers aren’t truly random as, unlike the natural events where anything could occur, these software versions have a finite selection of numbers that they can generate. They use a seed number, which can come from anything from a mouse movement to a hesitation measured in milliseconds, etc. This number is then run through a complex algorithmin order to generate a ‘random’ number. Whileit’s never truly random, for most applications this level of randomness is more than sufficient - and a lot easier to generate.

Online Casino Gaming

One place where the randomness of RNGS is super important is in creating fairness through randomness. In the world of online casinos, an RNG isn’t just important, it’s crucial. In order for games to be provably fair, they must use RNG technology. While there are certain exceptions, such as live dealer games, games from other categories need to prove their use of this technology.

This is particularly important because online casino games are (pretty much) all games that originate from real-life situations. The throw of a dice is random, and the order of a deck of cards is random too. That randomness needs to be simulated precisely in the online world, in order for the game to unfold fairly.

Online Security and Encryption

Another sector that uses random number generation is the online security sector. Cryptography is the practice ofencoding something in order to keep it private and RNGs are incredibly important in this practice. The most high-security environments (banks etc) require TRNGs, as it must be impossible for a decoder or hacker to unscramble the algorithm that the random number went through to create the code. However, TRNGs take a long time. PRNGs simply aren’t random enough, with a tiny chance that the algorithm could be deciphered, and information could be stolen. It’s for this reason that cryptographers use a third kind of RNG, a CSPRNG or cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator. These take a seed number from a random event that takes place within a machine and then put it through an algorithm to create even more unpredictable random numbers.

This is a fascinating area of random number generation, that shows the ingenuity of this sector when it comes to creating truly indecipherable security measures.