# Entropic Gravity? No Dark Matter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2016, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entropic-gravity-no-dark-matter/771160 "2016-11-09T07:52:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entropic-gravity-no-dark-matter/771160/1 "2016-11-09T07:52:31Z")
This is the new theory of gravity, eliminating Dark Matter. Apparently. Can the Doper scientists please explain it for the less-educated? > **[Solution To Dark Matter Proposes That Gravity Is An Illusion](https://www.forbes.com/sites/briankoberlein/2016/11/08/solution-to-dark-matter-proposes-that-gravity-is-an-illusion/#381d949c3058)** > > A new solution to dark matter argues that gravity is not a fundamental force, but rather an emergent property of entropy. [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1611.02269.pdf](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1611.02269.pdf) (pdf) > [@](#): > > In this paper we provide evidence for the fact that the observed dark energy and > the phenomena currently attributed to dark matter have a common origin and are > connected to the emergent nature of spacetime and gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entropic-gravity-no-dark-matter/771160/2 "2016-11-09T13:07:33Z")
The idea of entropic gravity has been around for a while, though I’ve never seen any explanation for it that makes any sense. But this is the first I’ve heard that it can do away with dark matter and dark energy: That’d be quite a remarkable feat, given the wide variety of independent observations for both. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entropic-gravity-no-dark-matter/771160/3 "2016-11-09T13:18:45Z")
I wasn’t aware that there were any actual **observations** of dark energy. I’m aware of observations of what is thought to be dark matter, but perhaps this paper provides an alternative explanation? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entropic-gravity-no-dark-matter/771160/4 "2016-11-09T13:57:55Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I wasn’t aware that there were any actual **observations** of dark energy. I’m aware of observations of what is thought to be dark matter, but perhaps this paper provides an alternative explanation? The evidence of dark energy is the observation that the rate of the universe’s expansion seems to be accelerating. I haven’t read the paper, but I don’t understand how there can be one force both holding close stuff together more strongly (dark matter) and pushing distant stuff apart more strongly (dark energy.) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entropic-gravity-no-dark-matter/771160/5 "2016-11-12T12:10:00Z")
I must confess to being none the wiser. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entropic-gravity-no-dark-matter/771160/6 "2016-11-12T12:56:01Z")
[xkcd’s take](http://xkcd.com/1758/) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entropic-gravity-no-dark-matter/771160/7 "2016-12-18T17:16:00Z")
Bump. This theory [has passed](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2116446-first-test-of-rival-to-einsteins-gravity-kills-off-dark-matter/) its first real test. Sort of.