'3 Body Problem': Is it related to Newton's Law of Gravitation? Is it science or fiction? Explained here

Can a planet rotate around three stars? Have the scientists developed nanofibres that can cut a diamond? These and many more questions will pop up in your mind when you watch Netflix's series, '3 Body Problem'. Based on Liu Cixin's award-winning book trilogy 'Remembrance of Earth’s Past', does the sci-fi series explain scientific phenomena or is it complete fiction?

'Oxford Five'

The Netflix series follows 'Oxford Five' or a group of five young scientists who studied together at the University of Oxford. One of them became a post-doctoral physics researcher, another is the founder and chief scientific officer of a nano-tech company, the third is a theoretical physics academic and the fourth of them has become a school physics teacher. The fifth member of the 'Oxford Five' is now a snack-food entrepreneur.

Trisolarans

The crux of the plot is that Trisolarans or San-Ti Ren is headed to Earth to invade and colonize it. Their planet is situated in a solar system with three suns, hence their name in the English translation of the book – the Trisolarans.

Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation defied?

Is is possible according to Sir Isaac Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation? Published in 1687, it describes the gravitational forces exerted by one body on another. Astronomers used this theory to model the relationship between two large bodies such as the Earth and the Sun.

Virtual reality video game

In the TV series '3 Body Problem', there are three relatively massive suns. In the corner of this Universe, the motion of the suns is inherently chaotic and unstable. Two of the Oxford Five scientists play a hyper-realistic virtual reality video game. The participants dive deep into different historical human civilizations that are all seemingly subject to the whims of a trisolar system.

What scientist Xavier Dumusque has said?

According to 'Scientific American', 'Nature' magazine talked to three scientists including Xavier Dumusque, a planetary scientist at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. He has studied the three-star system Alpha Centauri. He told the science magazine that

Dumusque told 'Nature' that Alpha Centauri is indeed a triple system, which has two bright stars, Alpha Centauri A and B, and a tiny star, Proxima Centauri, which is closest to us. He said, "The gravitational interaction of Proxima on the two main stars is extremely small. So what they’ve shown in the show — you have all this instability due to the third body — in reality, it doesn’t happen in this system."

FAQs

What is the source of '3 Body Problem'?
Netflix's sci-fi series '3 Body Problem' is based on Liu Cixin's award-winning book trilogy 'Remembrance of Earth’s Past'.

What is the crux of the plot of '3 Body Problem'?
The crux of the plot of '3 Body Problem' is that Trisolarans or San-Ti Ren is headed to Earth to invade and colonize it. Their planet is situated in a solar system with three suns, hence their name in the English translation of the book – the Trisolarans.