Deterministic Algorithm for Random Number Generation Using Coin Flips

Or a subset of the general problem.

Is there some algorithm, using only coin flips (and assuming that the
coin only lands on either face with exactly 0.5 probability) to
generate an integer on the interval [1,3]. Such that:

-all three values have equal chance
-the algorithm can guarantee that there is 0 probability that the
algorithm will run forever.

For example, I could flip all three coins until they didn't all match.
At this point, the differing coin (be it coin #1, coin #2, or coin #3
(or assuming the coins were not labeled: toss #1, toss #2, or toss
#3) ) would correspond to our answer.

But whenever you toss the three coins there is a 1/4 chance that they
will all be the same.

If you toss them all n times, there will be a 1/4^n chance that they
all matched every toss. 1/4^n will never be 0 for a finite amount of
tosses.

I suspect that this algorithm does not exist. Would there be a way to
prove it?
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Deterministic Algorithm for Random Number Generation Using Coin Flips
    ... algorithm will run forever. ... And there is your guarantee that your algorithm will not run forever. ... If you are flipping the coins then, since you will not live forever, ... (or assuming the coins were not labeled: toss #1, toss #2, or toss ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Deterministic Algorithm for Random Number Generation Using Coin Flips
    ... Is there some algorithm, using only coin flips (and assuming that the ... I could flip all three coins until they didn't all match. ... And there is your guarantee that your algorithm will not run forever. ... (or assuming the coins were not labeled: toss #1, toss #2, or toss ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: a question of counting
    ... > The first couple of sums: ... Most papers on the Frobenius problem concern ... than it looks, with two coins it is simple, with 3 coins there is an ... algorithm consisting of two applications of the Euclidean algorithm. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: a question of counting
    ... coins and sorting the results by value. ... > algorithm consisting of two applications of the Euclidean algorithm. ... generating function for the set of numbers which is representable (or ... the realm of number theory involving Diophantine equations. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Again - Coin recognition
    ... Recently i started to gather/create various ways how to recognize coins - in my country. ... second possibility - recognition by color - was kinda even easier - thought of few ways myself + using again ImageAnalyst masks on image example - have color recognition covered good:) ... Since you seem to be asking about general image processing / object recognition algorithms rather than how to implement those algorithms in MATLAB, you may want to ask this on a newsgroup dedicated to image processing. ... Once you've decided upon an algorithm to implement, if you have difficulty implementing it in MATLAB then come back to CSSM and ask for help with that implementation. ...
    (comp.soft-sys.matlab)