Abstract
The difference between past, present, and future which we all experience is due to causal chains moving forward in time. Time is a coordinate but is distinct from the spatial coordinates primarily because of a special relationship with causal chains. This paper examines systems which are static because of a lack of causal chains. Without causal chains there are no localized events in space-time. Such systems are time-independent because causal chains are the source of all processes of becoming. Causation introduces a time asymmetry in nature. On a microscopic scale where an accurate description requires quantum mechanics, time symmetry can be restored by including causal chains progressing backward in time.
William R. Wharton