Thermodynamics and general relativity could determine the geometry of the universe

We introduce a suggestive model where certain quantities in Friedmann models are treated like their thermodynamic counterparts; temperature entropy, Gibbs energy, and so on. Within this model, changes in the symmetry of the universe are interpreted as first- or second-order phase transitions. The thermodynamics we introduce give us a new way of determining the geometry of the universe. By choosing a specific local equation of state (P=), we show that with respect to the thermodynamics we have introduced, it is always more advantageous for the universe to be in a Bianchi V (open) symmetric state.This essay received an honorable mention from the Gravity Research Foundation for the year 1986 — Ed.