re: 3 Body Problem - Netflix

The sophons are protons which have been unfolded from three dimensions into two dimensions. This large flat proton is then encoded with an artifical intellegence. The two dimensional proton is then folded back up into three dimensions.

The sophons are created in pairs. The pairs share a quantum entaglement where a state change in one instantly changes the state of it's twin. One twin is launched to Earth while the other remains with the Trisolarans (San-Ti). This is how the Trisolarans can affect things despite being light years away.

Because a proton has so little mass it can travel close to light speed. It reaches Earth in about 4 years. The Trisolaran fleet is traveling at 1% light speed and is expected to reach Earth in 400 years.

Anyway, something like that. It's been a while since I read the books.

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And how the San-Ti can affect stuff in real time despite being light years (100's of years physically) away.

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Quantum entanglement - Einstein’s “spooky action at a distance.” It’s a phenomenon where the quantum states of two particles become entangled, meaning their states are correlated even at large distances. Research has shown that state measurements of entangled particles at the same time will yield the same results even if those particles are so far apart that they “communication” between them would have to happen faster than the speed of light. This has led to some speculation that FTL communication may be possible using quantum computers that are entangled with one another.

I’m not a theoretical physicist, but my understanding is that current consensus says transmission of actual information at faster-than-light speeds is still impossible, regardless of entanglement. The issue is that you can’t force a particle into a specific state (which you would have to do in order to actually communicate any information) without breaking the entanglement.

Interestingly, I’m not sure that FTL communication is actually necessary for the plot to work. A sufficiently-advanced quantum computer/AI would presumably be capable of “taking the wheel,” so to speak, and reporting its findings/actions back to the San-Ti with normal transmission delay. Not that it really matters.. it’s science fiction after all.