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The Universe in a Box review: Why all cosmic quests start on laptops

Grasping anything much about our universe depends on complex computer models that can simulate reality. Andrew Pontzen was sceptical about such simulations but now, as his new book shows, he's an enthusiastic guide

By Chris Stokel-Walker

14 June 2023

2NMX51D This satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows a tropical storm east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, at 7:50am EST, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. The National Hurricane Center issued tropical storm warnings for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where forecasters expected the potential cyclone to strengthen Tuesday into the sixth named storm, Fred, of the Atlantic hurricane season. (NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES via AP)

Simulations help forecasters understand tropical storms, like this one off Puerto Rico in 2021

NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES via AP/alamy

The Universe in a Box: A new cosmic history
Andrew Pontzen (Jonathan Cape)

GETTING to grips with the enormity of the universe and everything in it has always been the ultimate challenge for scientists.

The universe, as cosmologist Andrew Pontzen notes in his snappily written book, The Universe in a Box, is 13.8 billion years old. It comprises many different kinds of things – from countless atoms, molecules and particles to living things whose actions affect …

Article amended on 15 June 2023

We corrected the age of the universe.

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