Why can banana be a random number generator? Because it is the "king of radiation" in the fruit industry

Yang Jing Abundant color From the Aofei temple
qubits | official account QbitAI

A banana , It's still working like this ？！

really · Random number generator , The project is open source .

Need to know , It is usually generated by computer （ such as Random() function ） Are predictable pseudo-random numbers . If used to generate passwords , There is no guarantee of absolute safety .

So , Researchers began to look for random numbers from nature , Such as atmospheric noise 、 quantum mechanics 、 Cosmic microwave background radiation .

So bananas , And how to ensure the generation of truth · Random numbers ？

According to my brother's explanation , Is to detect the decay of radioactive substances in bananas , After simple algorithm processing, generate 0-255 Random number of ranges .

wait a minute , There seems to be something wrong ？ Banana 、 Radioactivity 、 radiation ……

I have eaten bananas for more than 20 years , You tell me this ？？

Fruit world “ King of radiation ”

After careful study, I found that , Bananas do have radiation , And it's not small .

In the fruit world, there are even “ King of radiation ” The title of the river and lake .

The core reason is that bananas are rich in Potassium At work ：100g Bananas contain about 350 Milligrams of potassium .

At present, naturally occurring potassium is composed of three isotopes . There are only a few nuclei ( about 0.015%), Potassium -40, Radioactive .

These atoms decay spontaneously , Release energy and separate electrons （β ray ） And gamma rays , So that the protein orDNA And other biological molecules , Thus causing radiation sickness or cancer .

Based on this principle , Which determines that bananas are ionizing radiation , Nuclear radiation .

Um. , The category of carcinogens classified by who .

But don't worry , To reach the true lethal dose , Humans need to eat 3500 Ten thousand bananas .

Plus , Our bodies contain about 120g The natural ingredient of potassium , Through metabolism , Will keep the amount of potassium at a constant level .

potassium -40 Want to accumulate in the body , It's not easy .

In order to better popularize science to the public , Physicists like to use it for comparison , It specially designed a noun .

Banana equivalent dose , An informal unit used to describe the intensity of radiation .

• The radiation dose of a banana =0.0778 Weixifu （ A formal unit of measure ）;

• chest CT scanning =7 Equivalent dose of ten thousand bananas ;

• The maximum allowable radiation exposure of the nuclear power plant to the surrounding environment = Every year, 2500 Root banana equivalent dose ;

by the way , I also use this to dispel a rumor .

Some friends may have read such a statement ： The radiation of bananas is higher than that of mobile phones ？！

in fact , There is no comparison between the two . One is ionizing radiation , The other is non ionizing radiation .

The biggest difference between the two , Is the level of energy , Is it enough to cause changes at the atomic level , Such as separating electrons .

△ Picture source ： The International Atomic Energy Agency

Nonionizing radiation , It is the one with lower energy , Although not enough to separate electrons from atoms or molecules , But you can make these molecules vibrate , Generate heat . This is how the microwave oven works .

A banana +300 Diverse hardware

This time I understand , Banana is a natural potassium -40 Radioactive Source .

Use potassium -40 The principle that radioactive decay is completely random , You can make it True random number generator .

In that case , How do you do that ？

It's simple . You only need to prepare one piece of hardware Arduino Development board + A Geiger counter .

The two add up to just 300 Multiple blocks （ Plate about 40 element , The counter is about 300 element ）.

The full name of Geiger counter is Geiger - Miller counter （Geiger-Müller counter）, from 1928 Since, it has been a counter specially used to detect the intensity of ionizing radiation .

The algorithm involved is very simple , Write a main loop , Let the register change from 0 Add to n, be equal to n when , The register is reset to 0.

Once the potassium in the banana above the device is detected during this process -40 Decay emits particles , The main loop pauses , Execute interrupt program , Returns the last value in the register as a random number , Then the register is reset to 0, Continue to cycle .

such as , We can change the register from 0 Add to 15, And express these numbers in hexadecimal （0-15 That's why 0-9、A-F）, Therefore, two hexadecimal numbers can form 1 A random number of bytes , Finally, we can get the decimal range 0-255 Any number of .

ps. A hexadecimal, for example 6F To convert to binary number is equal to 0110 1111, Altogether 8 position , And a byte is exactly equal to 8 Bit binary number .

This is the birth of a banana random number generator .

In the past, to get real random numbers , The common practice is to convert some random quantities generated by natural physical phenomena into digital information .

Such as resistance thermal noise 、 Avalanche effect in semiconductors 、 Circuit chaos effect, etc .

Others even use more complex quantum phenomena , Such as shot noise 、 photoelectric effect , And cosmic microwave background radiation , That is, the radioactive decay mentioned earlier .

Now? , Just a banana 、300 Multiple pieces of hardware can be made , It's not too convenient .

in fact ,GitHub In fact, there are many similar projects , There is also a special account on twitter that has been posted every day 200 Multiple random numbers persisted for one year .

It turns out that bananas are not only edible

Actually , There is more to banana than that .

such as , It can be Game handle .

In this year , Sony applied for a patent that seemed very interesting , The patent aims to “ cheap 、 Simple 、 Non electronic devices become game peripherals ”.

see , They use some devices and technologies to project virtual keys onto bananas , It becomes a handle .

And turn two bananas into double rocker by scanning , It can also control some walking simulators or Flying Games .

Another example , Bananas can also be used to experience the magic of physics , Positrons .

Because potassium -40 In the event of a β+ Decay to argon 40 when , Will release a positron at the same time . So a netizen from nutshell , Provides a method ：

Buy a banana , Smash it and apply it to your hands .

The average 1 Hours 51 minute , A positron annihilates in your hand ！”

Um. , Interested friends , You can try .

Of course , Bananas can also be used as a tool for mischief on weekdays .

Prepare a “ Banana + Jujube ”,“ Banana + Sprite ” And so on , It will let your friends discover a new world .

And in the virtual world , Bananas also have unexpected uses .

《 killer 3》 In the game , It is set as a kind of weapons ！ Portable and easy to hide , You can't even break through a bullet .

This has also become an extremely well received player “ The assassination ” Tools , Take a minute to stun a tall base guard , Once incarnated “ mine ”, The enemy immediately fell down and lay dead .

△  Tuyuan Travel Research Society

（ It's getting worse, huh .）

Last , Don't forget , There are also genes between a person and a banana 41% The similarity of ～( Manual formation )

Reference link ：
[1]https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/you-asked/it-true-banana-radioactive
[2]https://www.iaea.org/zh/newscenter/news/shi-yao-shi-fu-she
[3]https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/you-asked/it-true-banana-radioactive
[4]https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/KqcoIqotWNLIxyPwX-Y2tg
[5]https://github.com/gbonacini/nuclear_random_number_generator
[6]https://twitter.com/Hacksterio/status/1519118940810711040