Netflix's 3 Body Problem has been generating a lot of buzz since its premiere last month, and it's not hard to see why: The hit new series is being helmed by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with screenwriter Alexander Woo, and adapts a bestselling sci-fi book trilogy by Chinese writer Liu Cixin.
Both series explore thorny theoretical ideas posed by quantum mechanics, and don't skimp on the science, either. In fact, the series namesake — the titular three-body problem — involves an unsolvable physics conundrum that has baffled scientists for centuries.
Paul Sutter, a theoretical cosmologist, award-winning science communicator, NASA advisor, and U.S. Cultural Ambassador helps break down the real-world science behind the fiction.
What Is the Real Three-Body Problem?
The three-body problem is the original, and perhaps greatest, unsolved problem in all of physics. And while we know that we will likely never find a true solution to it, its existence continues to propel even the most advanced of our theories.
