In the science fiction novel “The Three-Body Problem” by Chinese author Liu Cixin, the concept of using the Sun as a signal amplifier plays a crucial role in interstellar communication. But is this idea scientifically feasible?
In Liu Cixin’s science fiction book “The Three-Body Problem”, the reason the Trisolarans came to invade Earth is that Ye Wenjie on Earth sent them a signal.
During her long career in transmitting and receiving radio signals as well as researching astrophysics, she discovered a new method for amplifying radio signals—using the Sun as a signal amplifier.
In Liu Cixin’s science fiction novel “The Three-Body Problem”, Earth’s civilization is trying to communicate with the Trisolaran civilization on another planet in the Alpha Centauri solar system. Due to the enormous distance between the two planets (about 4.37 light-years), conventional radio signal transmission would take hundreds of years to reach Trisolaris. To solve this problem, the scientists in the novel propose to use the Sun as a signal amplifier. This idea is based on the principle that the Sun’s powerful gravitational force can bend light rays and focus the energy of electromagnetic waves, thereby amplifying the signal and increasing the transmission range.
After calculations and analysis, she believes that if the Sun is used as a super antenna to amplify the radio waves emitted from Earth into the vastness of space, these radio waves will be transmitted with energy at a stellar level, and their output power will exceed all radio waves on Earth. By this method, humanity could communicate with other civilizations in the universe.
Therefore, after Ye Wenjie received and decoded the signals from the Trisolarans, combined with the suffering she had endured, she believed that humanity had become hopeless. Ultimately, she sent a distress signal to the Trisolarans, leading to their invasion, which is four light-years away from us.
This also marks the beginning of the plot in “The Three-Body Problem” by Liu Cixin.
The scientists in the novel “The Three-Body Problem” use a gigantic telescope to direct a powerful laser beam at the Sun. The Sun’s gravity bends the laser beam and focuses its energy into a narrow beam aimed at Trisolaris. This laser beam carries a message encoded as a radio wave. Thanks to the amplification by the Sun, the signal can be transmitted to Trisolaris with much greater power than conventional transmission, reducing the transmission time to just a few hours.
The method of transmitting radio waves and using the Sun as an amplifier is, in fact, merely a science fiction idea by Liu Cixin. However, on April 24 this year, various media outlets reported that a research team led by Yuan Ding, a professor at the Space Science and Technology Institute of Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), has for the first time observed the propagation of electromagnetic waves (light waves) in the solar corona, confirming that the special structure of the solar corona and large celestial bodies such as planets can serve as amplifiers for electromagnetic signals.
This means that humanity could achieve interstellar communication or energy transmission, utilizing “stellar-level energy” to transmit radio signals and communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations. Relevant research results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.
The enormous size of the Sun allows it to act as a gigantic antenna capable of amplifying powerful radio signals. At the same time, the Sun also continuously emits electromagnetic radiation, including radio waves. Consequently, many believe this radiation could be used to convey information to extraterrestrial civilizations.
Professor Yuan Ding and his team utilized the world’s most advanced hydrodynamic numerical simulation program, along with high-resolution observational data provided by the U.S. Solar Dynamics Observatory, to ensure the accuracy and reliability of their research results.
Through preliminary verification via observation and analysis, the research team found that during the propagation of electromagnetic waves, coronal holes act as “convex lenses” in this process, causing the initially dispersed hydromagnetic waves to gradually focus. Upon measurement, the special hydromagnetic wave phenomenon in the solar corona reduces the speed of light waves by 300 times, allowing the observation of its propagation dynamics.
Theoretically, the Sun could be used as a signal amplifier due to the plasma reflection effect. Plasma is the fourth state of matter, formed from ionized ions and electrons. The Sun is a massive plasma star, and the plasma in its corona can reflect radio waves.
After being concentrated by the coronal holes, the amplitude of the electromagnetic waves increases threefold, and the energy flow they carry increases sevenfold. This fully demonstrates the powerful potential of this energy focusing effect. Thus, the media reported that this discovery could be a significant breakthrough in interstellar signal transmission.
Transmitting signals or energy brings the possibility that in the future, humanity could indeed communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations in the universe through this method. In other words, is Ye Wenjie’s idea in “The Three-Body Problem” scientifically feasible?
This represents a misunderstanding of the research results by Yuan Ding’s team by the media, leading to distortion in reporting. The related article published by Yuan Ding’s team states that the hydromagnetic waves generated by solar flares are limited in concentration to coronal holes, but the energy enhanced after concentration actually remains focused on the Sun, with a certain distance limit, and cannot escape the Sun. Subsequently, its energy will not increase; rather, it will diminish.
Although the idea of using the Sun as a signal amplifier holds potential, there are still many challenges to address before it can be practically applied. Currently, scientists are researching alternative methods for interstellar communication, such as using lasers or artificial satellites.
In fact, the hydromagnetic waves generated by coronal holes shift from diffusion to concentration as they pass through the hole, and the effect is very similar to the “convex lens focal point” phenomenon we commonly encounter. Perhaps we can achieve enhanced accumulation of electromagnetic wave energy within a certain range in this way, but we cannot transmit enhanced electromagnetic waves over long distances in this manner. Therefore, we cannot use the Sun as an amplifier to broadcast strong electromagnetic information into deep space in this way.
