The situation changes somewhat with the introduction of dark energy or a cosmological constant. A cosmological constant due to a vacuum energy density has the effect of adding a repulsive force between objects that is proportional (not inversely proportional) to distance. Unlike inertia it actively "pulls" on objects that have clumped together under the influence of gravity, and even on individual atoms. However, this does not cause the objects to grow steadily or to disintegrate; unless they are very weakly bound, they will simply settle into an equilibrium state that is slightly (undetectably) larger than it would otherwise have been. As the universe expands and the matter in it thins, the gravitational attraction decreases (since it is proportional to the density), while the cosmological repulsion increases. Thus, the ultimate fate of the ΛCDM universe is a near-vacuum expanding at an ever-increasing rate under the influence of the cosmological constant. However, gravitationally bound objects like the Milky Way do not expand, and the Andromeda Galaxy is moving fast enough towards us that it will still merge with the Milky Way in around 3 billion years.