Fao Jim, What's Your Take On Entropic Gravity?

[ToraToraTora]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropic_gravity
A guest I have loves to talk science etc and he was mentioning this theory from Verlinde etc. I have read the Wikipedia page and it sounds a bit fanciful to me. What's your understanding of this? What do you think of his "explanation" of dark matter etc.

[jim360]

I don't have one at the moment. Let me just read it and get back to you tomorrow or something.

[Hymie]

I have known of the existence of dark matter (or at least its effects) since my early childhood despite it only relatively recently entering main-stream science.

As a child I noted that dark matter had a propensity to exist behind the goal-posts at football stadiums. Many a time, when a goal was scored, the commentator would announce that the ball had accelerated towards the back of the net. I concluded that the only logical explanation for this was some force unknown to science (at the time), which caused the ball to increase its kinetic energy.

I no longer have an interest in football and so do not know whether this phenomenon is still common at football stadia – perhaps other could advise.

[jim360]

Thanks TTT for asking me about this although I don't think I'll be able to come up with much of an answer. I glanced over the original paper and it does look interesting but it would probably take rather a lot more time and effort than I have available to go beyond that. So I'll stick to noting that it's obvious that the community as a whole has got interested in the idea, it looks plausible, and it may even be testable as distinct from other theories about the origin of gravity. So in that sense I'd say that it seems to be good science, interesting science, and something well worth keeping an eye on for future developments.

Sorry I can't be any more help than that. In my own work I tend to pretend that gravity doesn't exist, so I' not always familiar with work that *does* include or discuss gravity and its origins. But thank you for bringing the idea to my attention for the first time!

[Zacs-Master]

If it sheds any light on quantum entanglement then that would be good as current thinking seems to have little idea of how it works.

[ToraToraTora]

NP jim, thanks for having a butchers, I know we often disagree on thinks but when it's physics i do respect your opinion. I am personally struggling with the whole idea of linking gravity to entropy because as we know entropy only ever increases thus gravity should by now have become much stronger than it is. Then there are phrases like "emergent phenomenon" and "degrees of freedom", that worry me when mentioned in physics. There also seems to be some cross over to the string theory. Related to this, do you know if the LHC has any chance of following the Higgs with the verification of the existence of the graviton? which would no doubt blow this out of the water. I need more study on this I think. Thanks Jim.

[jim360]

"Related to this, do you know if the LHC has any chance of following the Higgs with the verification of the existence of the graviton?"

Almost certainly no, but I think they're keeping an eye out for it all the same on the off-chance!

"...I know we often disagree on thinks but when it's physics i do respect your opinion."

Glad to hear you say so; the only thing I want to add is that you shouldn't necessarily regard physics as an isolated science. There is, to take a random example, a lot of physics involved in Climate Science, and even where there are differences the approach to both is similar. I hope it doesn't ruin the sentiment of your post but I still think it's a shame that you can respect my opinion in physics but not, it seems, when it comes to any other scientific topics.

Obviously when it comes to politics that's entirely different and although I'm obviously sad that you disagree with me there I mind it a lot less. I suppose, in a way, I look forward to another year of intense arguments with you!

[Peter Pedant]

Physics is too hard for physicists - Hilbert

tell me has 3T taken drugs or something ?
sensible question
sentences have main verbs in them
no rhyming slang -or w/t/fs

is this really the 3T we know ?

[scorpiojo]

:)

[ToraToraTora]

perhaps you don't know me eh two cells?

[New Judge]

I thought it was a dodgy type of pregnancy.

Mind you, I have just been watching "Call the Midwife". :-)

[jim360]

Many thanks for the BA, TTT!

[New Judge]

I thought I deserved it more !!!! :-) :-)

[Peter Pedant]

no no me me
I was telling the truth more - and was as usual ignored

[ToraToraTora]

what's up two cells eh?