Understanding Gravity: Newton, Einstein, Verlinde?

Gravity is a physical phenomenon by which objects are attracted to each other. Every time you jump, you experience gravity. It pulls you back down to the Earth. Although gravity is such a constant presence in our lives, its origin is still a deep mystery. Isaac Newton described gravity as a universal force that attracts every object that has mass. Albert Einstein thought gravity is a result of the curvature of spacetime. What will be the next theory closer to the truth?

Recently, Erik Verlinde, a Dutch theoretical physicist and string theorist, provocatively claimed that gravity is a mere illusion; it is not fundamental but emergent as an entropic force. This intriguing idea created a big stir in the physics community. If it proves to be correct, Verlinde will be beyond Newton and Einstein. Is he right then? This little book will introduce and examine Verlinde’s idea of gravity as an entropic force.

Book Excerpt:

Very provocative.
— John Schwarz, California Institute of Technology

Very interesting and also very incomplete.
— Lee Smolin, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

A set of ideas that resonates with the community… everyone is waiting to see if this can be made more precise.
— Michael Douglas, State University of New York at Stony Brook

Some people have said it can’t be right, others that it’s right and we already knew it — that it’s right and profound, right and trivial… What you have to say is that it has inspired a lot of interesting discussions. It’s just a very interesting collection of ideas that touch on things we most profoundly do not understand about our universe. That’s why I liked it.
— Andrew Strominger, Harvard University