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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Technology
Anthony Cuthbertson

‘Pivotal milestone’ as quantum computer generates first truly random number

Lottery balls used for the Loto Lottery in Boulogne, France, 9 April, 2018 - (Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images)

Researchers have achieved a major milestone in quantum computing after successfully generating “truly random” numbers using the next-generation machines.

Quantum computers hold the potential to be orders of magnitude more powerful than the world’s best supercomputers by replacing traditional bits – the ‘ones’ and ‘zeros’ used to store and transfer digital data – with quantum bits, called qubits, that make use of a quantum phenomena known as superposition to exist in two states at once.

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