A guide to using PhysPicks
PhysPicks is an interactive number and name picker that shows a draw as a browser-based physics simulation. Use a numbered chamber for a selection from a fixed range, or a text list when you want to draw names and other entries. The following guide explains the controls, the results and the limits of the simulation.
Creating your first selection
Choose a format from Number Pool Preset, then select how many sets to generate and how long the balls should mix. Press Pick Numbers to start the simulation. Watch the balls leave the chamber and read each completed set below the stage. For example, 6 from 49 selects six numbers from the range 1–49. Choose Custom Preset to configure custom 1–99 ball ranges, switch between Automatic and Manual (click-per-pick) Mode, or use a text list.
3D Chamber & Controls
The 3D stage gives you complete interactive control over the physical simulation environment:
Camera Modes: Switch between "Auto" (cinematic tracking that zooms into the suction tube during ball selection), "Wide" (full view of both chambers), and "Chamber" (close-up on the mixing drum).
Blower Test: Allows you to manually activate the pneumatic air nozzle before starting generation to test the aerodynamic tumbling vortex.
Tumble Cycle: Configures the pre-selection tumble duration (2s Turbo, 5s Fast, or 10s broadcast cycle).
Sets to Generate: Lets you select from 1 to 6 consecutive sets. The engine resets balls between sets and executes each set sequentially into your results table.
Custom Presets
Single Chamber
Use one numbered chamber to select from a single pool. Set the total number of balls (from 1 to 99) and your selection target (from 1 up to the total ball count, ensuring the target never exceeds total balls). Choose between Automatic Mode (where balls tumble and extract continuously) and Manual Mode (where you press Pick Number for each ball; the chamber tumbles for your selected cycle duration, opens the trap to extract one ball, and pauses until your next click).
Dual Chamber
Use two numbered chambers when your selection needs a primary pool and a separate secondary pool. Configure the ball count and selection target for each chamber independently (1–99 balls). The pools are separate, so the same number can appear in both parts of a result.
Single Chamber - Text
Replace numbered balls with paper slips containing names or other text. Enter one item per line or import a CSV file, then check the list before starting. Text mode supports up to 500 entries and uses one list rather than multiple number sets. JSON export and import let you save or restore a list locally.
Individual selection
Choose Individual picks and set how many entries to select, from 1 to 25 and no more than your list contains. Start the pick to mix and extract the slips. Results appear in selection order; Pause, Resume and Reset control the run, and Share lets you export the selected names.
Divide into teams & groups
Choose Teams & groups, enter the participants and select the number of teams. You can name the teams before starting. Every participant is picked and assigned in turn across the teams, keeping group sizes as even as possible. If the participant count is not divisible by the team count, some teams receive one extra member.
Physics Engine vs. Traditional RNG
PhysPicks is designed to offer an interactive, browser-based way to make and observe selections, not to claim better or more secure mathematical randomness than a conventional random-number generator.
In the chamber simulation, the result is driven by the simulated motion and capture of the balls rather than by a number chosen in advance for an animation. The model uses simplified numerical physics and browser-based random inputs; its results are not independently certified as uniform, unbiased, cryptographically secure, or suitable for official or high-stakes selections.
Like other software running on a machine, the simulation is subject to limitations in its code, browser, device, timing, configuration, and numerical model. Treat it as an engaging physics-driven picker, not as proof of superior randomness.
Cryptographic Commitment
Audit Integrity displays a SHA-256 commitment made from two random values and a timestamp generated in your browser before a selection. You can compare the revealed values with the commitment. This checks the commitment record; it is not independent certification, proof that every result is equally likely, or a way to reproduce the complete physics simulation. Both random values are generated locally, including the value labelled “server seed”.
Statistical Sampling
The Monte Carlo tool runs repeated algorithmic selections and displays frequencies and statistical indicators for the configured number pool. It is useful for exploring variation across samples. It does not run the complete 3D chamber for every trial, and its charts do not certify the physical simulator or predict a future selection.
Independent Physics Simulation Tool: This tool provides physics-based number generation using client-side 3D rigid-body kinematics. Generated numbers do not predict real-world probabilities.