A
computer simulation is a
simulation, run on a single computer, or a network of computers, to reproduce behavior of a
system. The simulation uses an abstract
model (a
computer model, or a
computational model) to simulate the system. Computer simulations have become a useful part of
mathematical modeling of many natural systems in
physics (
computational physics),
astrophysics,
climatology,
chemistry and
biology, human systems in
economics,
psychology,
social science, and
engineering. Simulation of a system is represented as the running of the system's model. It can be used to explore and gain new insights into new
technology and to estimate the performance of systems too complex for
analytical solutions.