Subject: Re: Random bit generator in hardware...
Keywords: Random, Hardware
From: kdq@demott.COM (Kevin D. Quitt @ DeMott Electronics Co., Van Nuys CA)

    You can make a pretty good random number generator just by taking a
schmitt buffer inverter, tie its output to its input (makes it oscillate
*very* fast), and also tie the output to the clock input on a 4 bit
counter.  The counter contents are not random, of course, but since it
is cycling so much faster than you can read it, and your reads are
asynchronous to the clocking, the values thus obtained are pretty well
random. 

    This is about the best technique I know, short of using an antenna
to pick up celestial noise, or using a chunk of something radioactive.

-- 
 _
Kevin D. Quitt         demott!kdq   kdq@demott.com
DeMott Electronics Co. 14707 Keswick St.   Van Nuys, CA 91405-1266
VOICE (818) 988-4975   FAX (818) 997-1190  MODEM (818) 997-4496 PEP last

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