The AI That Found a New Law of Physics: Machine Learning in Science [11]

An AI at Emory University analyzing “dusty plasma” made a shocking discovery — it appeared to break Newton’s Third Law of Motion. In this episode of "AI Freaky Facts," host Steve Atwal dives into how artificial intelligence is uncovering new laws of physics. From "AI Feynman" at MIT to DeepMind’s AlphaTensor, these AI breakthroughs in machine learning and symbolic regression are showing that machines might one day understand the universe in ways humans can’t. Could AI revolutionize physics as we know it?Contact Steve at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://aifreakyfacts.com⁠⁠⁠⁠Topics Covered: AI Freaky Facts, Steve Atwal, AI physics, artificial intelligence, new law of physics, Emory University, symbolic regression, DeepMind, AI Feynman, AlphaTensor, Newton’s Third Law, machine discovery, physics podcast, AI breakthroughs, machine learning, science and technology, AI research, quantum mechanicsReferences:1. AI reveals unexpected new physics in dusty plasma.https://news.emory.edu/features/2025/07/esc_ai_dusty_plasma_30-07-2025/index.html(Relevance: This article details the Emory University AI that discovered non-reciprocal forces in dusty plasma, essentially challenging a core assumption of Newton's Third Law in that specific system.)2. Artificial Intelligence Discovers Alternative Physics.https://scitechdaily.com/artificial-intelligence-discovers-alternative-physics/(Relevance: This discusses the Columbia University research where an AI observed phenomena and discovered its own set of variables—a "mathematical language it is speaking"—to describe physical systems, a key step toward new theoretical frameworks.)3. AI-Newton: A Concept-Driven Physical Law Discovery System without Prior Physical Knowledge.https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.01538(Relevance: This is the abstract for the research on "AI-Newton," an autonomous system capable of deriving fundamental laws (like Newton's Second Law and the Law of Gravitation) solely from raw data, without human-defined physical knowledge.)4. The End of Physics? AI Is Discovering New Laws of the Universe - Without Us.https://www.leximancer.com/blog/0lu21hnlp0ho7z1qxvs14jsrpx94op(Relevance: Provides broad philosophical and historical context on AI's role in future physics breakthroughs and whether AI could redefine fundamental concepts.)Music Credits:1. "Hitman" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/2. "Limit 70" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/3. "Galactic Rap " Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/4. "Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This podcast is narrated by the host's own voice, powered by AI.