Is gravity a phenomenon that emerges from the laws of thermodynamics and information theory?

From Technology Review:

A few month's ago, Erik Verlinde at the the University of Amsterdam put forward one such idea which has taken the world of physics by storm. Verlinde suggested that gravity is merely a manifestation of entropy in the Universe. His idea is based on the second law of thermodynamics, that entropy always increases over time. It suggests that differences in entropy between parts of the Universe generates a force that redistributes matter in a way that maximises entropy. This is the force we call gravity.

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Entropy alone creates complex crystals from simple shapes, study shows

From PhysOrg.com:

In a study that elevates the role of entropy in creating order, research led by the University of Michigan shows that certain pyramid shapes can spontaneously organize into complex quasicrystals.

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Turning heat to electricity... efficiently

From PhysOrg.com:

In everything from computer processor chips to car engines to electric powerplants, the need to get rid of excess heat creates a major source of inefficiency. But new research points the way to a technology that might make it possible to harvest much of that wasted heat and turn it into usable electricity.

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Physicist Proposes Solution to Arrow-of-Time Paradox

From PhysOrg.com:

Entropy can decrease, according to a new proposal - but the process would destroy any evidence of its existence, and erase any memory an observer might have of it. It sounds like the plot to a weird sci-fi movie, but the idea has recently been suggested by theoretical physicist Lorenzo Maccone, currently a visiting scientist at MIT, in an attempt to solve a longstanding paradox in physics.

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Could Maxwell's Demon Exist in Nanoscale Systems?

From PhysOrg.com:

Maxwell’s demon may be making a comeback. Physicists know that the demon, an imaginary creature that decreases the entropy of a system, cannot exist in macroscopic systems due to the energy it requires to perform its role. However, a recent study has shown that, on the nanoscale, Maxwell’s demon might be able to do its work with much less energy than previously thought due to tiny thermal fluctuations that occur in small systems

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Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues)

Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues) from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- Today, scientists understand pretty well how life evolves, by mechanisms based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection for survival of the fittest. However, Darwin’s 1859 classic, On the Origin of Species, somewhat ironically doesn’t answer that very question – how species actually originated. And to this day, how that first tiny pool of chemicals twitched to life remains a puzzle.

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Scientists show quantum systems could flout physics law (Thermodynamics)

Scientists show quantum systems could flout physics law from PhysOrg.com

Scientists in the Weizmann Institute's Faculty of Chemistry, together with colleagues in Germany, have made a startling prediction: Simply 'taking the temperature' of certain quantum systems at frequent intervals might cause them to disobey a hard and fast rule of thermodynamics.

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