Multimedia Gallery - Cornell University researchers Hod Lipson (right) and Michael Schmidt hold up a double pendulum.

Photo of Cornell University researchers holding up a double pendulum.

March 30, 2009

Cornell University researchers Hod Lipson (right) and Michael Schmidt hold up a double pendulum.

Cornell University researcher Hod Lipson (at right) and his doctoral student Michael Schmidt hold up a double pendulum, a simple device that follows deceptively complicated natural laws when it swings. Lipson and Schmidt used the device, and others, in their experiments to prove that an algorithm developed for self-repairing robots can uncover scientific laws hidden in raw data. The breakthrough may aid the discovery of new scientific truths, particularly for biological systems, that have until now eluded detection.

Credit: Jonathan Hiller, Cornell University

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