Theoretical question about rolling dice...?

Question

Don't ask where this came from because I haven't the slightest idea. But I am not trying to rig a craps game.

In theory, is it possible that some number of dice could be placed in a cup in a precise orientation, shaken in a precise manner, and thrown with a precise velocity and come up with the same results every time. In this theoretical case, you would probably need to use a robot to control all action.

Is this theoretically possible or are there just too many randomizing elements for this to work?

Answer 1

In theory, yes.

What I mean is, this is not quantum mechanics, so the THEORY, says that you could really control the initial position of the dice, and the cup, and the properties of the surfaces of the dice, and of the internal surfaces of the cup, such that you could get a predictable result every time.

Now in practice, it might be quite complicated to achieve - but at least in theory, not impossible.


This is in sharp contrast with quantum mechanics, which applies to very small objects, and which basically predicts probabilities, rather than an actual outcome. In that case, however careful you'd be, you could never get to a repeatable and predictable outcome.


Hope this helps

Answer 2

In theory, with perfect dice and perfect reproducibility, yes. In reality, no. Dice rolling is nonlinear, and one characteristic of nonlinear processes is that extremely small differences in initial conditions create very large differences in outcome (the so-called "Butterfly Effect").