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I just want to know if there is any scientific merit to this, the premise of Cixen Liu's novel, "The Three-Body Problem". English translation published in 2016.

See also Tor.com: Cixin Liu’s Award-Winning The Three-Body Problem May be Coming to Amazon

uhoh
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Tim Calhoun
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    Welcome to Space! Some of us are unfamiliar with this novel. Could you please summarize how the sun is used as an amplifier in the novel. Otherwise, this question is at risk of being closed for being unclear what you are asking. Thanks! – DrSheldon Nov 29 '18 at 03:30
  • Let's find out! In the novel The-Three Body Problem how does the Sun amplify radio transmissions? – uhoh Nov 29 '18 at 03:53
  • I think the "should" aspect is so different that it needs to be asked separately, but probably not in this SE site because it wouldn't have a fact-based answer. Maybe philosophy SE is better for that one. – uhoh Nov 29 '18 at 06:56
  • Based on this answer I think this particular in-universe fictional effect is not likely to have any corresponding phenomenon in the real universe. So probably off-topic for here. – uhoh Nov 29 '18 at 08:19
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because the phenomenon in the story is too fictional for there to be any corresponding phenomenon in reality. It's an interesting question, but not suited for Space Exploration SE. – uhoh Nov 29 '18 at 08:52
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    For the record, I'm still trying to find out whether the author based this concept on a real scientific phenomenon or whether it's entirely fictional and of his own devising. Most science-based fiction bears some basis in fact, typically where an author has heard about something and extrapolated – Richard Nov 29 '18 at 09:02
  • @Richard welcome to Space and thanks for your help! That is certainly true, I'll keep an eye on this question. If there was sufficient science, then Physics SE or Astronomy SE might be good for this question, but this probably won't have any connection to realistic exploration of space. – uhoh Nov 29 '18 at 09:11
  • @Richard but this one does ;-) How closely did When Worlds Collide authors pursue the physics of the catastrophic damage and planet trajectories? – uhoh Nov 29 '18 at 09:30
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    So no one at least here can answer my question. Perhaps reasonable skeptics could consider the book's premise as a testable hypothesis? The author's "Dark Forest" theory purports to explain the Fermi Paradox. Fermi's "everyone" is either hiding from or hunting one another. I find this a logically staggering possibility which has very important implications for SETI enthusiasts, space exploration and humanity at large. An anthropologist by training, I thank all you physical scientists for indulging my curiosity! – Tim Calhoun Dec 03 '18 at 02:51

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