Combining quantum entanglement with hash chains promises randomness which can be relied on

Scientists in the US have built a system for creating truly random numbers which cannot be tampered with by a third party.

Random numbers might be needed to pick jury members out of a field without bias, or provide security algorithms. Quantum events offer the promise of true randomness. Meanwhile, a phenomenon called quantum entanglement, which determines that two quantum particles emitted at the same time can remain forever linked in their state, no matter how far apart they are, allows for boffins to check their work.

While entanglement offers a way of checking a truly random source of data, such systems can potentially be spoofed if a rogue actor secretly mistimes one of the measurements.

A paper published in Nature by University of Colorado, Boulder, postdoctoral student Gautam Kavuri and colleagues, describes a new system which provides a publicly available hash chain, greatly raising the difficulty of tampering with ...