Random.org (stylized as RANDOM.ORG) is a

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

that produces random numbers based on

atmospheric noise Atmospheric noise is radio noise, or "static", caused by natural atmospheric processes, primarily lightning discharges in thunderstorms. On a worldwide scale, there are about 40 lightning flashes per second, or lightning discharges per day ...

. In addition to generating random numbers in a specified range and subject to a specified

probability distribution In probability theory and statistics, a probability distribution is a Function (mathematics), function that gives the probabilities of occurrence of possible events for an Experiment (probability theory), experiment. It is a mathematical descri ...

, which is the most commonly done activity on the site, it has free tools to simulate events such as flipping coins, shuffling cards, and rolling dice. It also offers paid services to generate longer sequences of random numbers and act as a third-party arbiter for raffles, sweepstakes, and promotions. Random.org is distinguished from pseudo-random number generators, which use mathematical formulae to produce random-appearing numbers. The website was created in 1998 by Mads Haahr, a doctor and computer science professor at Trinity College in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Random numbers are generated based on atmospheric noise captured by several radios tuned between stations.

Bits

A binary digit (bit) can be either 0 or 1. There are several Random.org radios located in Copenhagen, Dublin, and Ballsbridge, each generating 12,000 bits per second from the atmospheric noise picked up. The generators produce a continuous string of random bits which are converted into the form requested (integer, Gaussian distribution, etc.)

Quota

There are limits to the number of bits supplied to a particular

IP address An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. IP addresses serve two main functions: network interface i ...

. A new user (identified by IP address) starts with a free-of-charge quota of 1,000,000 bits which is depleted every time bits are supplied, and topped up by 200,000 bits (or to 1,000,000 bits if the user has more than 800,000 bits remaining) every day at midnight UTC. Larger numbers of bits can be purchased.

References

External links

* {{official website, //www.random.org/ * /www.random.org/clients/http/archive/ HTTP client implementationsfor various programming languages. Internet properties established in 1998 Irish websites Random number generation