Published On 10/6/2026
Theoretically, when you flip a coin thousands of times, the ratio of “heads” and “tails” should be 50% each, but in practice the coin may be slightly imperfect, or the method of tossing itself is biased, so one outcome appears more likely than the other.
The same thing happens with modern computers. Although they are capable of generating seemingly random numbers, they may contain very small biases, which make some numbers appear more pronounced than others.
This does not represent a problem in most uses, but in encryption an attacker may exploit these biases to crack passwords or secret keys. The matter here is like locking a safe. If it is composed of numbers that are chosen in a way that is not completely random, the thief will know that some numbers are more likely than others, and thus the number of possibilities that he needs to try will be reduced.
If the numbers are completely random, there is no way to predict them, so the strength of any encryption system depends on the quality of the random numbers it uses.
Amplifying randomness is the solution
Instead of trying to make a perfect random generator from scratch, researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich devised a method called “random amplification”, in which a 90% “pseudo-random” source is passed through a special quantum experiment and an advanced mathematical algorithm to turn it into 100% complete randomness.
During the study published in the journal Nature, the researchers used two quantum chips that contain qubits, and a qubit is the quantum version of a traditional bit.
A “bit” in a regular computer is either 0 or 1 only, while a qubit can be a combination of both at the same time (quantum superposition).
Scientists have linked the two qubits to a state called “quantum entanglement,” which is one of the strangest phenomena in physics. It can be likened to two gloves inside two boxes. If you open the first box and find the glove of the right hand, you will immediately know that the second box contains the glove of the left hand. In quantum entanglement, a similar connection occurs, but it is much stronger and deeper.
When scientists measure the first qubit and randomly get a 0 or 1, the result of the second qubit is directly related to it.
Strong evidence of randomness
The scientists placed the two quantum chips, which contain qubits, at a distance of 30 meters inside a very low-temperature cryogenic system. The goal of this distance was to achieve the “causal separation” condition, so that no signal, even if it traveled at the speed of light, could be transmitted between the two chips during the measurement process.
With this design, if any correlations appear in the results, they cannot be explained by a traditional exchange of information between the two systems, but rather require an explanation based on quantum phenomena. Therefore, this experimental setup helps rule out local classical interpretations, and reinforces that the results are due to fundamental quantum behavior of the system.
The researchers liken this achievement to “atomic clocks,” and said in a statement published by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich that “before atomic clocks, time measurements were less accurate, but today atomic clocks represent the global reference for time.”
The researchers believe that the new randomization generator may become the global reference for randomness, so that other systems rely on it when they need completely reliable random numbers.
The researchers explain that this achievement could be useful in encrypting military and government communications, protecting banking transactions, securing digital identities, and electronic voting systems.
