If it [the universe] was expanding fairly slowly, the force of gravity would cause it eventually to stop expanding and then to start contracting. However, if it was expanding at more than a certain critical rate, gravity would never be strong enough to stop it, and the universe would continue to expand forever.
Stephen HawkingObservations indicate that the universe is expanding at an ever increasing rate. It will expand forever, getting emptier and darker.
Stephen HawkingYou may see a cup of tea fall off a table and break into pieces on the floor... But you will never see the cup gather itself back together and jump back on the table. The increase of disorder, or entropy, is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.
Stephen HawkingThe meaning in life is not out there but inbetween our ears. In many ways this makes us the lords of creation.
Stephen HawkingThe human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies. We are so insignificant that I can't believe the whole universe exists for our benefit. That would be like saying that you would disappear if I closed my eyes.
Stephen Hawking