Computer simulations in science

Since the advent of digital computers around 1950, the method of computer simulation (simulation, for short) has enriched the repertoire of scientific methods. A computer simulation traces the dynamical behaviour of a target system by evaluating a (possibly partial and approximate) solution to a model. Philosophers of science have clarified the concept of computer simulation and its subcategories, analysed the justification of simulation results, explained the power and limitations of simulations, and explored their broader significance for science.