Description

Will we ever truly understand the universe? This is the story of the technologies that allow us to look up, to learn and to discover our place in the cosmos.

‘An electrifying new history of the universe’ HANNAH FRY, author of Rutherford and Fry’s Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything

We are part of an incredible chain of events stretching 13.8 billion years into the past and even further into the future. But what does that future hold? And how do scientists study the entire universe?

The Universe in a Box is Andrew Pontzen’s tribute to simulations – the remarkable computer codes that, over the last century, have allowed us to understand the distant past and far future of the universe. It reframes what we think we know about galaxies, black holes and matter itself.
And it reveals the stories of the pioneering scientists who unlocked the mysteries of space, from redshift to improbable dark materials that pass, ghostlike, through solid rock.

Illuminating, provocative and bold, this is the perfect book for anyone curious about the cosmos.

Publisher Review

An electrifying new history of the universe and how it all fits together, and of the human effort to unlock its mysteries -- Hannah Fry, author of Rutherford and Fry's Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything A truly excellent exposition of a fascinating, little-understood, and very important scientific activity. I was enlightened, amazed, and profoundly impressed. I've seldom seen a book (and this is an age of really good writing about science for the general public) so clear, so vivid -- Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials Forget telescopes and microscopes, Pontzen's laboratory sits inside his computer and it is quickly becoming the most important tool in science -- Jim Al-Khalili, author of The Joy of Science Our understanding of 'cosmic origins' - the emergence of stars, galaxies and our entire expanding universe - has burgeoned thanks to more powerful telescopes and computers. Andrew Pontzen gives a vivid perspective on what it's like to be a scientist trying to 'model' the universe. This fascinating book, written with clarity and zest, deserves wide readership -- Martin Rees, author of Just Six Numbers A joyride through the history of cosmic simulations, taking in weather forecasting and climate models, the mysteries of dark matter, dark energy and black holes, quantum mechanics, multiverses and artificial intelligence - all between the covers of a single book! -- Ananyo Bhattacharya, author of The Man from the Future Just when the universe thought it was too big and old for us to comprehend, scientists like Andrew Pontzen began capturing it in their computers, and the story of their work is exhilirating -- Matt Parker, author of Humble Pi