Webpage with several options for producing quantum randomness:
- Random number in a range
- Choose an item from a list
- 8-ball
http://shitchell.github.io/QuantumChoice
Powered by qrng.js, a javascript library that makes use of Australia National University's quantum random number generator.
Fun fact: qrng.js is used to replace Math.random(), so everything on the page--even the movement of the particles in the background--is quantum random :D
If you knock over the first domino in a line of dominoes, you know exactly what will happen next: the first domino will knock over the second domino, which in turn knocks down the third domino, and on. This is because we live in a universe that seems to have stringent, predictable physical laws. When you add 1 + 1, you always get 2. The velocity of an object will always be distance / time. Neither math nor physics seem to change. So when you knock over the first domino, the chain reaction that follows is calculable. If you could perfectly measure every factor involved -- from the mass and velocity of the first domino to the gravitational effect of Proxima Centauri on the dominoes -- you could (theoretically) perfectly determine exactly how that chain reaction would play out before it even happened. And if you could perfectly calculate it beforehand, one might even call the chain reaction which follows the fall of the first domino not only predictable but inevitable due to the unchanging nature of math and physics.
So when that apple fell on Newton's head, it wasn't necessarily random. It can be viewed as the inevitable result of millions of "dominoes" falling over before it: the tree's seed being planted, the tree growing over time, weather weakening the apple's stem from wind & rain, etc... The millions and billions of physical interactions involved make the chain reaction so much more complex than a line of dominoes that we call it "random", but at the core it's still just dominoes falling over in a perfectly calculable way. Our inability to see and measure every piece doesn't make it any less adherent to the predictable laws of physics. If we had enough data and a powerful enough computer, we could have calculated exactly when that apple would fall off the tree and hit Newton in the head long before it ever happened.
This is determinism. It's the idea that every thing that happens is the inevitable consequence of everything that came before. That if we had enough data, we could calculate every single event that has ever happened and will ever happen. We like to believe our fate is in our hands, not the inevitable result of math and physical laws. And who knows, if "consciousness" is more than just neurons firing in our brain, maybe we truly do have free will. If not -- if our consciousness arises from physical matter and energy which both adhere to the laws of physics -- then it's quite possible that the entire course of our lives is just as calculable as dominoes falling over.
Thanks for the dissertation, what does this have to do with quantum?
I'm so glad you asked! We've got a long ways to go before we have a good understanding of quantum mechanics, but one thing we've found is that it seems to operate based on probability. If you knock one quantum particle into another, all of a sudden the outcome is not perfectly predictable. Instead, you might have a 50% chance of Outcome A, a 30% chance of Outcome B, and a 20% chance of Outcome C. And whichever one ends up happening happens completely randomly. How is this possible in a universe based on math and stringent physical laws? WE HAVE NO IDEA. Quantum mechanics is one of our hugest modern mysteries. Einstein did not like the random aspect of quantum mechanics, famously declaring that "God does not throw dice." Stephen Hawking countered that saying "not only does God play dice, but... he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen"
So if you flip a coin to make a decision, the outcome is not actually random. Whether it's heads or tails is the inevitable result of millions of factors. We simply call it "random" because we aren't smart enough to calculate what the result will be. Consequently, the "random" decision you based on that coin flip isn't random at all. It is inevitable.
But if you base a decision off of quantum randomness... oh boy. Now you're making a decision that can't be predicted by even the smartest supercomputer factoring in every single data point available. Now your decision isn't simply some inevitable result of fate.
So introduce some quantum randomness into your life. Write a new script off the beaten and predictable path. Break free from determinism :)