Gravity, the force that attracts objects toward each other, is currently framed by Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. This framework describes gravity as the curvature of spacetime, the invisible four-dimensional fabric of the universe.

While general relativity is now the central theory of gravity, it fails to explain some cosmological phenomena and mysteries, such as the so-called cosmological constant problem. This is the unexplained mismatch between the observed energy of empty space and the far greater values predicted by quantum theories.

In a recent paper published in Physical Review Letters, researchers at Imperial College London tried to frame gravity using thermodynamics, the framework that describes how energy and heat transform. Their study builds on a seminal paper by theoretical physicist Ted Jacobson, published more than three decades ago.