Random.org as of October, 2009 |
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URL | Random.org |
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Type of site | Web service |
Registration | optional |
Available language(s) | English |
Owner | Mads Haahr |
Created by | Mads Haahr |
Launched | 1997 |
Alexa rank | 7,438 (January 2012[update])[1] |
Current status | online |
Random.org is a website that produces "true" random numbers based on atmospheric noise.[2] In addition to generating random numbers, it has free tools to do things such as flip coins, shuffle cards, and roll dice. It also offers paid services to generate sequences of random numbers and act as a third-party arbiter for raffles, sweepstakes, and promotions.
The website was created in 1997 by Mads Haahr,[3][4] a doctor and computer science professor at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Random numbers are generated based on atmospheric noise captured by several radios tuned between stations.[5][6] By 2004 it had generated more than 61 billion random numbers.[4]
Contents |
A bit is a number that can equal 0 or 1. There are several Random.org generators that generate 3,000 bits per second. The generators produce a continual string of bits. An example of a string of bits is: 01100011100000000101010001000001111100010111000101001010... Whenever a random result is requested, the bits are used to generate the result. The simplest instance of a random result on the site is the coin toss. The coin toss requires just one bit at a time. If the bit is 0, the coin would be reverse (tails) and if the bit is 1, the coin would be obverse (heads).
To make sure nobody places unfair demands on the system, a limit to the number of bits supplied to a particular user is enforced. Every 24 hours, up to 200,000 bits are added to each IP Address' quota. Once 1,000,000 bits have been added to the quota, no more will be added. One can buy different amounts of quota top-offs in order to raise their quota, in which case the 1,000,000-bit limit is no longer enforced.[7]