The Universe in a Box: Simulations and the Quest to Code the Cosmos

4.2 | 26 ratings

Price: 13.78

Last update: 09-16-2024

About this item

Scientists are using simulations to recreate the universe, revealing the hidden nature of reality.

Cosmology is a tricky science—no one can make their own stars, planets, or galaxies to test its theories. But over the last few decades a new kind of physics has emerged to fill the gap between theory and experimentation. Harnessing the power of modern supercomputers, cosmologists have built simulations that offer profound insights into the deep history of our universe, allowing centuries-old ideas to be tested for the first time. Today, physicists are translating their ideas and equations into code, finding that there is just as much to be learned from computers as experiments in laboratories.

In The Universe in a Box,cosmologist Andrew Pontzen explains how physicists model the universe’s most exotic phenomena, from black holes and colliding galaxies to dark matter and quantum entanglement, enabling them to study the evolution of virtual worlds and to shed new light on our reality.

But simulations don’t just allow experimentation with the cosmos; they are also essential to myriad disciplines like weather forecasting, epidemiology, neuroscience, financial planning, airplane design, and special effects for summer blockbusters. Crafting these simulations involves tough compromises and expert knowledge. Simulation is itself a whole new branch of science, one that we are only just beginning to appreciate and understand. The story of simulations is the thrilling history of how we arrived at our current knowledge of the world around us, and it provides a sneak peek at what we may discover next.

Fabio Governato

Not just about the Universe.

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2023

The book touches on several topics relevant to our understanding of not just the physical world, but of how modern scientists make sense of it through math, coding and a mix of skills not so different from those of a detective in a good murder show . It's an easy to read behind the scenes look at how today's supercomputers are as helpful as accelerators and giant space telescopes. From proud pizza connoisseurs to slightly deranged characters the descriptions of some of the players in this field were fun and engaging. Also, 'The Universe in a Box' is short enough that you will actually finish it. Which I almost never do when it comes to science books. Five stars and extra cheese for this one.

Fred Cheyunski

Fills the Bill on Physics Modelling and Progress

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2023

Since reading Hertog’s “On the Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking's Final Theory” (see my review), I was interested in learning more about the use of simulations in cosmology and physics. This books certainly fills the bill giving background and progress related to such modeling applied from galaxies to neutrinos.

More specifically, the book’s contents consisted of an Introduction and 7 chapters: (1) Weather and Climate, (2) Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Cosmic Web, (3) Galaxies and the Sub-Grid, (4) Black Holes, (5) Quantum Mechanics and Cosmic Origins, (6) Thinking, and (7) Simulations, Science, and Reality. There are also Acknowledgements, Notes, and an Index.

Parts of the book that stood out for me were simulation’s foundations in weather forecasting and the ways it has been extended into cosmology. For instance, author Pontzen relates (in Kindle Location 307) that “American meteorologist Cleveland Abbe estimated in 1869 that only 30 percent of the European predictions for a day ahead were accurate—and yet regarded that as a great encouragement to start a formal forecasting service for the United States . . . “ He continues (in Location 320) that “By 1901, [Abbe] had gathered what he thought should form the basis of a truly rigorous weather forecast . . . the Navier–Stokes equations after two nineteenth-century scientists . . . known as laws of fluid dynamics.” Later, Pontzen explains how he assisted his mentors (George Efstathiou, Carlos Frenk, and Simon White) to use computers and such equations to simulate the universe “in a box.” As he goes on to elaborate (Location 1050-56) that “The gang of four combined this universe-in-a-box with the standard kick-drift-through-time approach . . . to simulations and showed how dark matter . . . would gradually construct a web of material over billions of years . . . Like climate scientists, cosmologists can tweak the assumptions within simulations to discover how these different structures respond and whether they match reality.” Similarly, those with similar backgrounds in companies can simulate business conditions and the possible outcomes of different initiatives as depicted in Schrage’s “Serious Play” (see my review).

Additionally, I appreciated the summary explanations based on simulated findings. As an example, the author conveys (in Location 1145-49) that “By experimenting with simulations until the structure looks right, the pioneers correctly inferred significant facts about our universe: that the material we observe directly cannot account for the existence of the web; that neutrinos must be too light to play any significant role; and that the expansion of the universe must be accelerating . . . Today, the picture of a universe with 25 percent dark matter and 70 percent dark energy—just 5 percent left over for the atoms and molecules.” Such comments bring to mind Panek’s “The 4% Universe” and Chapman’s “First Light (see my reviews). It was also gratifying to see that so many women are mentioned (seems like I counted 6 to 8) which hopefully presages that prospects like those described in Prescod-Weinstein’s account in their “The Disordered Cosmos” are improving (see my review).

While I appreciated mention of Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing related to physics, I got a little lost in the “meta”-physical discussions and implications at times. As an example, the author relates (in Location 2577-96) that “Artificial intelligence is also becoming an unavoidable part of many sciences, including cosmology. . . Turning the raw outputs from a telescope . . . into information about our universe requires extensive data processing . . . All this is far too much to be attempted by humans alone . . . machine learning, has immense flexibility . . . But it can be exceptionally hard to understand what the computer has learned, why it reaches particular conclusions, and whether one can rely on those conclusions for scientific deductions.” Perhaps as in Kissinger’s “The Age of AI” or in Ishiguro’s novel “Klara and the Sun” (see my reviews) more of us will be able to “see the light” about such tools.

None the less, this book is well worth a read to become more knowledgeable about simulation along with its current and potential use in science for the future.

laolaohu

okay

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2023

This book is a bit light for a science text but probably engaging enough for a more casual reader. I found the history of how computer simulations became incorporated into cosmological research interesting enough, but when he delves into more philosophical issues he quickly loses focus. Also, I found his coining of the term "smarticles" in place of simulation particles just a bit too cute for comfortable reading.

Brad M.

This book is a little too light weight for me

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2023

The author is really interested in the use of simulation to investigate dark matter and energy.

But the book is filled with random details about random people and doesn't really dig really deeply into questions about the use
models and simulation.

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