An emulator is a computer program that makes one device act like a completely different device. Think of it like a digital costume: your laptop might pretend to be a 1985 Nintendo game console, or your phone might act like an old calculator from the 1970s.

Emulators work by copying how the original device processed information. When you run a classic video game through an emulator, your modern computer translates all the old instructions into ones it can understand, making the game look and play exactly as it did decades ago. Museums use emulators to preserve old software that would otherwise disappear when the original machines break down or become impossible to find.

Software developers also use emulators as testing tools. Before releasing a new phone app, a programmer might use an emulator to test how the app works on dozens of different phone models without actually owning all those phones.

When you emulate your older sister's study habits, you're copying her successful approach. An emulator does the same thing with technology: it studies how something works and then imitates it so precisely that the software can't tell the difference.