A Fundamental Force Revisited

Gravity

Gravity is a force that seems central to us walking around on this globe, but how essential is it in a physicist’s world? In physics there are considered to be four fundamental forces; interactions that do not appear to be reducible to more basic interactions. A couple of years ago, professor Erik Verlinde proposed a new theory of gravity that challenges the conventional idea that it is a fundamental force.

This is an online event

Erik Verlinde’s theory describes gravity as an entropic force; a force rooted in the interaction of matter on the smallest scale. In this line of thought gravity would no longer be a fundamental force. Rather, it is considered a phenomenon that emerges from quantum interactions of spacetime information. If the last sentence intrigues you or makes you scratch your head, make sure to attend the next edition of the BètaBreak! During this conversation we will discuss what Verlinde’s theory entails, if other physicists agree with it, and what its consequences could be.

About the speaker

Erik Verlinde is a theoretical physicist and string theorist, and holds a Professorship at the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam.