A new Netflix series, based on the sci-fi trilogy of Chinese writer Liu Cixin, has recently been released and it's called 3 Body Problem. The title is based on the n-body problem which was initially tackled by Isaac Newton in his seminal work Principia in 1687. He specifically tried to find a solution to the problem of the movements of three bodies subject to their gravitational attractions.
Without really trying to get into all the complicated science of the issue, we can first look at the two-body problem and how, by using the two objects' center of gravity as a reference point, we are able to clear away all the uncertain variables and equations, making it easier to predict the orbits of the two masses.
Our solar system is a relatively stable orbital system because the sun is fixed, and all the planets orbiting around it follow a fixed direction. But if a rogue star were to come careening into our solar system, that would throw the whole system into chaos because the interactions between the gravitational forces of the different bodies will be too unpredictable.
And that is why the new Netflix series was named after the problem in question. The story posits a technologically advanced alien civilization that, for billions of years, has been struggling with the three-body problem in real-time. Although it's not chaos all the time, as the aliens experience long periods of stability, there comes a point when that order will be thrown into chaos because of the reaction of the two suns.
The unpredictability of the chaotic era of the Trisolarans was the central focal point of the plot (spoiler alert). Currently, the first season of the series is done with eight episodes, which adapted the first book of Liu's trilogy. That will then spin off into a different direction before setting up book two.
Thankfully, the series itself doesn't focus too much on the science as much as they do the characters and how they deal with the issues presented by the aliens spying on Earth.
(Video credit: TED-Ed/Youtube)