How the Validation Engine Works
Deterministic physics rules, not AI predictions. Every number is verified against experimental databases.
12 Physics Rules
5.4M Materials
3 Open Databases
67K Patents
0 AI-Generated Data
Triple Verification — Zero Hallucinated Data
The validation engine does not generate data. Every product validates claims against data that already exists in peer-reviewed databases.
Deterministic Physics
12 constraint rules use hardcoded physical constants and peer-reviewed reference data. Not AI predictions. Deterministic.
Cross-Verification
Every number in the AI-drafted report is extracted and checked against database evidence. Unverified values are flagged and regenerated, never published.
Human Expert Review
A named PhD specialist reviews every report. They interpret, contextualise, and write the expert commentary that makes each report actionable.
Experimental Parameter Validation
Beyond physics bounds and literature consensus, PhysicsCheck cross-references claimed property values against a growing corpus of experimentally reported measurements extracted from peer-reviewed abstracts.
58,000+
Parameters extracted
697K
Papers analysed
9
Material domains covered
For each claim, we compute the statistical distribution of published measurements for that material-property combination and show where the claimed value sits — from within typical range to exceeding all published values.
Example — LiFePO4 Specific Capacity
Published Experimental Record — LiFePO4 Specific Capacity
Low end (5th percentile)78.5 mAh/g
Typical low (25th percentile)118.4 mAh/g
Typical high (75th percentile)155.2 mAh/g
High end (95th percentile)171.5 mAh/g
★ Your claimed value170 mAh/g · 97th percentile
Mean133 mAh/g
Median144 mAh/g
Std dev±51 mAh/g
Claimed170 mAh/g
Across 29 independent peer-reviewed studies
The 8-Stage Validation Pipeline
From claim input to branded PDF — every stage is transparent, auditable, and deterministic.
01
Parse
Claim decomposed into composition, properties, conditions
02
RAG
Cross-referenced against 5.4M materials from 3 databases
03
Rules
12 deterministic physics constraints check every claim
04
Draft
AI drafts sections with explicit source attribution
05
Verify
Every number verified against database evidence
06
Enrich
Crystal structures, Ashby plots, comparison tables
07
Review
Named PhD specialist writes expert commentary
08
Render
8–12 page branded PDF with full audit trail
Every report includes Expert Commentary (Section 6)
A named PhD specialist reviews the automated results, interprets findings, and writes the expert commentary. Not generated by AI.
Three Databases — Named, Counted, Linked
Every database is open-access, peer-reviewed, and independently verifiable. CC BY 4.0 licensed.
AX
Alexandria
Ruhr University Bochum · Microsoft Research
5.1M
near-hull structures
CC BY 4.0
View source →
MP
Materials Project
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (DOE)
211K
inorganic materials
CC BY 4.0
View source →
PT
Patent Corpus — 67,301 patents
27K from EPO OPS (EP, WO, US, DE, FR, GB) + 40K from Google Patents Public Data (CN, JP, KR, TW). Used for prior art detection in R10 (Literature Consensus) and R12 (Novelty Flag). All public patent data.
Material Coverage by Class
| Class | Classification | Materials | Ashby Bounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loading coverage data… | |||
Alexandria v2024.3 — synced 2026-04-25
OQMD v1.6 — synced 2026-04-25
Materials Project v2024.01 — synced 2026-04-25
Daily sync via pg_cron
Coverage counts and Ashby bounds auto-regenerate on each database sync. Classification uses the SQL rules defined in the constraint engine. ● fresh (<7 days) · ● aging (7–30 days) · ● stale (>30 days)
12 Constraint Rules — Categories
Categories and representative examples shown. Exact thresholds are kept private to prevent claim-tuning.
✓
Thermodynamic Checks (3 rules)
PASSValidates energy, stability, and thermal limits against experimental references and DFT computations.
Formation energy · Phase stability · Thermal limits
✓
Structural Checks (3 rules)
KNOWNVerifies crystal structure, composition validity, and material existence against known databases.
Crystal structure · Composition · Novelty detection
!
Transport Properties (2 rules)
WARNCross-checks claimed physical properties against Ashby limits and fundamental physics laws.
Ashby bounds · Wiedemann-Franz verification
✓
Data Validation (4 rules)
PASSEnsures internal consistency across databases, literature benchmarks, and synthesis feasibility.
Cross-DB agreement · Literature consensus · Synthesis routes · Dimensional analysis
Technical Documentation
For scientists evaluating methodology rigour and potential SME candidates.
All 12 Constraint Rules
R1 · Ashby Upper Bound — OOM percentile check against Ashby envelope
R2 · Formation Energy — Cross-database ΔHf comparison
R3 · Composition Validity — Charge balance and element validation
R4 · Crystal Structure — Polytype and lattice parameter verification
R5 · Phase Stability — Convex hull distance analysis
R6 · Thermal Limit — Operating temp vs decomposition/melting
R7 · Dimensional Analysis — Unit consistency via pint library
R8 · Wiedemann-Franz — Metal-specific transport law verification
R9 · Synthesis Feasibility — Known routes and precursor availability
R10 · Literature Consensus — Multi-source citation agreement
R11 · Cross-Database Agreement — Multi-DB value convergence
R12 · Novelty Flag — Known / Variant / Novel classification
Error Margin Disclosure
PhysicsCheck reports include uncertainty where available. Formation energy comparisons use ±0.10 eV/atom tolerance. Ashby bounds use percentile ranges (p95, p99). Literature consensus reports both mean and variance across sources. Where DFT accuracy limits apply (typically ±0.1–0.3 eV for GGA functionals), this is stated in the methodology appendix.
Database Schema Philosophy
Local-first PostgreSQL with pgvector. Five data sources synced locally into a single 115 GB database: Alexandria 5.3M · OQMD 97K · Materials Project 21K · Literature 701K papers · Patents 67K (EPO + GCP). Sub-300ms query latency with zero external API calls during validation. Full GDPR compliance by architecture — no user data leaves the EU-hosted infrastructure.
LD
Luc Durand, PhD Founder
PhD in materials science specialising in coatings, thin films, and surface engineering. Research experience at CEA Saclay. Built PhysicsCheck because VCs deserve physics, not guesswork.