When purportedly random processes give rise to surprisingly nonrandom outcomes, how can one tell whether the process are truly random? One way exploits the relatively little-known method of runs. We discuss the perplexing probability problem that brought this procedure to our attention, and our experimental tests of random processes produced by (a) numerical algorithm, (b) coin selection, and (c) nuclear decay.
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© 1999 American Association of Physics Teachers.
1999
American Association of Physics Teachers
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