Let's play with some gravity!

The power of simulation: as an adolescent, it entertained my dreams in the form of diverse fantasies. As an adult, it keeps my mind entertained with the sheer scope of knowledge that computer simulations hint at. Cosmology, of course, is the one field that benefitted the most from recent advances in processor power and speed. We are no longer blocked by the billions of years that separate us from the primordial moments of the universe. What we can't observe yet, me simulate; it seems we understand enough about the laws of cosmology to have reached coherent models; the fact that we would require the calculation powers of supercomputers to be verify these models only hints at how much more will be accomplished if Moore's law holds true.

Meanwhile, for those of us that don't own supercomputers, we can still have fun running solar system simulations. And My Solar System is a pretty good place to start: it really does a great job at showing multiple-body interactions and is pretty easy to use for those of us who have limited grasp of the mathematical formulas involved (if you're curious, take a look here).

For my own part, I get a kick out of sending a comet on a slingshot every time!