what is simulation distance in minecraft

Simulation distance is a setting in Minecraft that controls mob spawning and despawning, and tick updates. It is different from render distance, which determines how far away chunks are loaded and visible to the player. Simulation distance decides which chunks are subject to other forces in Minecrafts engine, including interaction. For example, if a player has a farm five chunks away, and their simulation distance is at five chunks or higher, that farm will grow over time. Simulation distance affects how far away things can be while the game continues to either play out the processes the item is undergoing, such as items smelting in furnaces, or how far away mobs will continue to think and have AI. If the simulation distance is too far, or there are too many players simulating totally distinct areas, the game's performance can start to lag and even come to a stop in serious cases. Simulation distance is primarily a world setting used on Minecraft Bedrock edition, as the Java edition calculates its simulation and interaction differently.