BBC Science Focus - 03.2020

THISISSUE’S EXPERTS

Q

&

A

ALAMY

JACKSTECHER, DALLAS, TEXAS

WOULD A MODERN COMPUTER BE ABLE

TO DERIVE THE EQUATION E=mc

2

?

Artificialintelligence (AI) algorithms have had some success in learning the laws of

physics. In 2009, researchers at Cornell University fed data from a swinging pendulum to

their AI, and it managed to learn laws such as the conservation of momentum and

Newton’s second law of motion. In 2018, researchers at MIT went further, showing their

‘AI physicist’ a bouncing ball in various simulated worlds, which allowed it to derive the

laws for each simulation. Like a scientist, the algorithm could even combine individual

laws to make unified theories. To discover E=mc^2 , we would need to show an AI object

behaving according to Special Relativity. For example, we could create a simulated world

in which the mass of an object appears to increase with speed. Let an AI loose in this

world and it may well figure out Einstein’s famous equation linking mass and energy. LV

ALL YOUR

QUESTIONS

ANSWERED

DRHELEN

PILCHER

Biologist,

science writer

DRCHRISTIAN

JARRETT

Neuroscientist,

science writer

DRALASTAIR

GUNN

A stronomer,

astrophysicist

ALEXFRANKLIN-

CHEUNG

Environment/

climate expert

LUIS

VILLAZON

Science/tech

writer

PROFROBERT

MAT THEWS

Physicist,

science writer

DRHELEN

SCALES

Oceansexpert,

science writer

ALOMSHAHA

Science teacher,

filmmaker,

author

CHARLOTTE

CORNEY

Zoodirector,

conservationist

DRPETER J

BENTLEY

Computer

scientist, author

DREMMA

DAVIES

Chemistryexpert,

science writer

PROFALICE

GREGORY

Psychologist,

sleep expert