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arXiv · astro-ph/0408281

Random Numbers from Astronomical Imaging

Kevin A. Pimbblet·Michael Bulmer
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Abstract

This article describes a method to turn astronomical imaging into a random number generator by using the positions of incident cosmic rays and hot pixels to generate bit streams. We subject the resultant bit streams to a battery of standard benchmark statistical tests for randomness and show that these bit streams are statistically the same as a perfect random bit stream. Strategies for improving and building upon this method are outlined.

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Kevin A. Pimbblet, Michael Bulmer. 2004-08-16. Random Numbers from Astronomical Imaging. https://doi.org/10.1071/as04043

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