Entropic Layer Hypothesis: A Thought-Experimental Framework for Unified Redefinitions of Time, Dimension, Gravity, Quantum Theory, and Light

We propose a thought-experimental framework, termed the Entropic Layer Hypothesis, in which the fundamental concepts of physics—time, spatial dimension, gravity, quantum mechanics, and light—are unified through a single underlying structure: discretely overlapping layers of entropic states coexisting within the same spacetime. The framework rests on four axioms: (1) the directionality of entropy increase defines time; (2) information is conserved; (3) any act of observation necessarily generates entropy; and (4) different entropic states can overlap within the same spacetime, separated entropically rather than spatially. From these axioms we derive the following theorems: gravity is the observational expression of entropy gradients between adjacent layers (consistent with, and independently parallel to, Verlinde's entropic gravity); spatial dimension equals the number of overlapping entropy layers accessible to an observer; time is the difference Δt = D(t₂)−D(t₁) between layer counts; quantum discretisation arises from the rounding of non-integer layer states by the act of observation; and light is an informational pattern propagating along the boundaries between entropy layers in the high-entropy component. As speculative extensions we propose (i) that N entropy layers generate N gravitational effects, offering a layered interpretation of the four fundamental forces; (ii) that consciousness may constitute a biological mechanism for observing low-entropy components without light, resolving in part the quantum measurement problem. The hypothesis yields distinctive, falsifiable predictions: decoherence rates should change discontinuously rather than continuously as external conditions vary; gravitational waves should exhibit additional polarisation modes; and dark-energy decay should follow a stepwise pattern. Mathematical formalisation is an explicit outstanding task. This paper is positioned as a conceptual-framework proposal by an independent researcher (legal practitioner), inviting collaboration with physicists for formal development.