Sometimes you need random numbers — and properly random ones, at that. [Sean Boyce] whipped up a rig that serves up just that ...

An OSCILLATION whose instantaneous magnitude is not specified for any given instant of time, but rather is described in terms of probability distribution functions such as the Gaussian. Also called ...

such as radioactive decay or thermal noise. By contrast it is extremely easy to generate numbers that look random but in fact follow a predictable sequence. A shift register with feedback through ...