This could also be the Asimov story "Escape! in which a specialized robot, "the Brain" goes a bit crazy as it develops a hyperspace drive, because the drive will cause the temporary death of the crew, which violates the First Law of Robotics. I don't think the drive "violates the laws of Physics", but it did reveal new laws. According to the Wikipedia article linked above: "The Brain has become a practical joker: it hasn't built any manual controls for the ship, no showers or beds, either, and it only provides tinned beans and milk for the crew to survive on."

I was also reminded of the Asimov story "Little Lost Robot" but it doesn't really fit, as no new device or discovery was made by the Nestor robot in that story.

This could also be the Asimov story "Escape!" in which a specialized robot, "the Brain" goes a bit crazy as it develops a hyperspace drive, because the drive will cause the temporary death of the crew, which violates the First Law of Robotics. I don't think the drive "violates the laws of Physics", but it did reveal new laws. According to the Wikipedia article linked above: "The Brain has become a practical joker: it hasn't built any manual controls for the ship, no showers or beds, either, and it only provides tinned beans and milk for the crew to survive on."

I was also reminded of the Asimov story "Little Lost Robot" but it doesn't really fit, as no new device or discovery was made by the Nestor robot in that story.