Ep 3: Jaymie Matthews on Solar Physics in 'The Oppenheimer Alternative' and 'Variable Star'

The Science in The Fiction

In this episode Marty sits down with Prof. Jaymie Matthews, astrophysicist from the University of British Columbia, to discuss the some of the solar physics in Robert J. Sawyer’s ‘The Oppenheimer Alternative’, as a follow up to our interview with Robert in Episode 2. We cover a fair bit of ground with Dr. Matthews, who explains how his research career helped establish a new field of astronomy called helio-seismology, which probes the inner structure, size and age of our sun and other stars by measuring their vibrational modes of oscillation. Along the way we discuss how this research has led to new capabilities currently used in the hunt for extra-solar planets, why having a fairly boring star is a good thing for life on earth, and that we don’t need to worry about our sun suddenly exploding and vaporizing us all. We also discuss his contributions to another science fiction novel by Spider Robinson and Robert Heinlein, called Variable Star.
Jaymie Matthews: matthews | UBC Physics & Astronomy
Jaymie Matthews: Jaymie Matthews | ideacity
Jaymie Matthews: MOST (spacecraft) - Wikipedia
Robert J. SAwyer: Author Robert J. Sawyer: Hugo, Nebula, and Campbell Memorial Award-winning Science Fiction Writer (sfwriter.com)
The Oppenheimer Alternative: Science Fiction Writer Robert J. Sawyer: THE OPPENHEIMER ALTERNATIVE Index (sfwriter.com)
Spider Robinson: Welcome to Spider Robinson's Official Website
Variable Star: Variable Star - Wikipedia

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