Quantum Dice

Nowadays all chance games, e.g. backgammon, risk, card games, etc. rely on the physics of Chaos theory. I suggest to make them depend on Quantum theory and thus make them truly chance games. In order to understand this project some background is in order.

Chaos theory states that given a small change in initial conditions, the amount of change in later times grows exponential, i.e. the changes later are huge. The so-called "butterfly effect"  states (wrongly, I think) that a butterfly moving its wing in Africa can cause a hurricane in America. My interpretation of Chaos theory (which I learned since I was 16 years old) is somewhat different. The "problem" in Chaos theory is not in random or even small effects; the problem is lack of knowledge of them. Chaos theory has completely no randomness in it; it is based on Newtonian deterministic dynamics. Hence, as Newton stated, if you know all the initial conditions, you can predict the future completely. Chaos theory states that if you don't know all the initial conditions, i.e. some conditions are simply unknown or immeasurable, then chaotic systems will be unpredictable as time progresses. The uncertainty in prediction is due to lack of knowledge and not true randomness.

How all of this relates to chance games? Rolling the dice means that you do not know all the initial conditions, e.g. the exact force expended, the friction with the air and the table, the exact shape and mass-distribution of the dice, etc. Hence, each throw has some different initial conditions and hence you cannot predict its future. A counter-example: weighted-dice have known important initial condition of asymmetric mass-distribution, such that no matter the other initial conditions, the toss is always the same. Weighted dice show how knowing, or better yet determining, the initial conditions can result in a predictable future in an otherwise chaotic system. Shuffling of cards prior to distribution follows the same logic.

So why is quantum physics so different? Quantum physics has shown that (to the best of our scientific knowledge) there is an inherent randomness in the world, i.e. there are some systems that you cannot, even if you know everything (all the initial conditions), predict their future. Once you make your measurement of the future, the result is completely and utterly random. I will not go in detail how this is possible or how that was proven, but you can look at my Quantum Computer Games to get the gist of it. However, this is a known scientific fact. A question arises: what are those quantum systems that behave in such a random way? The answer is small (really small) systems, such as a single atom, a single electron or such (although larger systems have been shown to behave in a quantum manner, the record being a virus!).

The project thus suggests to use a quantum system as the chance element in chance games. This is obviously not easy since quantum systems are hard to manufacture and maintain. The most formidable challenge is to isolate the system from the environment. However, I can envision a small portable product whose sole purpose is to generate a 0 or a 1, randomly, based on a quantum system. Suggestions for such a system are: single-photon emitters, which are now commonplace in research laboratories; solid-state systems, which are becoming the most promising avenue to the coveted quantum computers; quantum-dot systems, which can hold a single electron. Such a system can easily be transferred to a dice (1-6) or distribution of cards, using standard (classical) hardware. Hence, the results of such a product, the quantum die, will be truly random and give a little tweak to the word "chance" in chance games.