Random Number Generators

Sources for random number generation:

• Most statistical packages

• www.random.org

• Tables of random numbers

  • From NIST: http://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/pubs/upload/AppenB-HB133-05-Z.pdf

The NIST Randomness Beacon

• NIST: https://beacon.nist.gov/home

• More info: http://hackaday.com/2014/12/19/nist-randomness-beacon/

• "Since early evening on September 5th, 2013 the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been publishing a 512-bit, full-entropy random number every minute of every day. What’s more, each number is cryptographically signed so that you can easily verify that it was generated by the NIST. A date stamp is included in the process, so that you can tell when the random values were created. And finally, all of the values are linked to the previous value in a chain so that you can detect if any of the past numbers in the series have been altered after the next number is published."

An R package for random number generation:

• http://dirk.eddelbuettel.com/code/random.html

Properties of random number generators: (pending)