NTRAND

Returns uniform pseudo random number(s) in (0, 1) based on Mersenne Twister Algorithm which has long period (2¹⁹⁹³⁷-1), high order of equidistribution and 623 dimensions.

Syntax

Parameters

• Size is # of random numbers (Positive integer).
• Algorithm is an integer value that determines a method to generate uniform random number.
  • 0: Mersenne Twister(2002)
  • 1: Mersenne Twister(1998)
  • 2: Numerical Recipes ran2()
• Random seed1 is 1st. random seed.
• Random seed2 is 2nd. random seed.

Remarks

• More precisely, a range of random number is
  
• To generate uniform random numbers between a and b (a < b), use:
  =(b-a)*NTRAND(100)+a
• To generate discrete random numbers in [m, n] (m and n are integer and m < n), use:
  =INT(NTRAND(100)*(n-m+1))+m

  For example, to model a dice (output is in [1,6]):

  =INT(NTRAND(100)*6)+1

Example

• The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet
  How to copy an example
  1. Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
  2. Select the example in the Help topic.

     Note  Do not select the row or column headers.

     

     Selecting an example from Help

  3. Press CTRL+C.
  4. In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
  5. To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.

  1 2	A B Data Description =NTRAND(100,0,12345,67890) 100 uniform random numbers by Mersenne Twister algorithm with random seeds 12345 and 67890

  Note : The formula in the example must be entered as an array formula. After copying the example to a blank worksheet, select the range A2:A101 starting with the formula cell. Press F2, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER.

• Download sample excel sheet
• See tutorial video

See also

• Uniform distribution
• Choice of the random number generator algorithm
• Why I always see the same result even if I input formula into multiple cell?