RE: Random Numbers

[Rip Stauffer <rstauffer@bluefirepartners.com>]

Hello, All,

Dr. Deming used to say that a truer source of random numbers could be
generated using radioactive decay. I did a bit of research a few years ago
to compare the RAND million random digits with a million random digits
generated by a Krypton 85 source. Interestingly, the poker test found a
higher chi-square for the RAND digits, 13.316, than for the hotbits, 9.78.
At 171 degrees of freedom, neither shows a significant departure from
"randomness."

If you'd like some of these numbers, you can get 10,000 at a time by going
to http://www.fourmilab.ch/hotbits/ You have to fill out a request form, but
it's pretty painless and quick way to get some (at least theoretically
unassailable) random digits. 

Best regards,

Rip Stauffer