Time and the Universe: A Grand Perspective
Apart from the experiences of living things, time plays another crucial role in the infinite universe. Galaxies are moving apart, and billions of years are passing between such occurrences. The expansion gives birth to change through the arrow of time: stars come into life and burn for millions of years before imploding. On Earth, time aids evolutionary changes, as well as climatic changes, which have determined life over thousands of years.
In an understanding of ultimate depth, if time were to stop, this cosmic dance would come to a screeching halt. Stars would no longer shine; chemical reactions in distant nebulae would freeze, and the very expansion of the universe would cease. A wonder it is that scientists view time as the foundation of all that we know about the universe. For without it, it is indeed no growth, no decay, nor movement—eternal stasis.
