The Higgs Boson and Simulations

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I think it's just a hundred percent theory I mean doing calculations theory. Yeah, I think experiment is collecting data about the physical world. So you have a simulation, it models roughly what particles do now It doesn't get every aspect of it 100% like reality but you can discover thermodynamics in these simulations. But then so does the wind tunnel the wind tunnel has approximations that are not going to be there when you fly your actual aircraft. Now why is the latter not an experiment? That distinction kind of crumbles in your hands if you really try to make it.

It's somewhat amazing that cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole, can make any progress at all. But it has, especially so in recent decades. Partly that's because nature has been kind to us in some ways: the universe is quite a simple place on large scales and at early times. Another reason is a leap forward in the data we have collected, and in the growing use of a powerful tool: computer simulations. I talk with cosmologist Andrew Pontzen on what we know about the universe, and how simulations have helped us figure it out. We also touch on hot topics in cosmology (early galaxies discovered by JWST) as well as philosophical issues (are simulations data or theory?).

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Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/06/19/240-andrew-pontz…and-the-universe/

Andrew Pontzen received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Cambridge. He is currently Professor of Cosmology at University College London. In addition to his research in cosmology, he frequently writes popular articles and appears in science documentaries. His new book is The Universe in a Box: Simulations and the Quest to Code the Cosmos.

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