The Physics of Santa
By Beth Harris, Science and Technology Editor
8 days down and 16 to go. Hang out your stockings because Santa is on his way! That is, if he can make it to around 2 billion children around the world…
Whilst the idea of travelling around the world in an open-top sleigh delivering presents to the world in just one night may seem impossible, especially to the Scrooges amongst us, it may not be as unbelievable as you think. Let’s go through the science…
Speed
In the UK alone, there are approximately 27.2 million households. For Mr Claus to get around them all before dawn on Christmas morning, he would have to visit 630 houses per second. Not to mention the time taken to park his sleigh and wriggle down the chimney! Therefore, with a global population that now exceeds 7.5 billion, he would be looking at visiting 1 house every 200 microseconds. Even for a man who only works one night a year, this would be one hell of a challenge.
Having said that, in order to travel the average distance from house to house on Christmas Eve, taking into account that half of the time would be taken up by parking and delivering, Santa would need to travel at approximately 6,400 miles per hour. Whilst the sceptics among you are beginning to shake your heads, this is not as far-fetched as it first sounds when compared to the 17,640 miles per hour speed at which rockets launch into space. Plus, it is important to consider that we are living in the 21st century whereby sleigh technology has greatly improved from its original wooden models and carrot re-fuelling stations are available at every household.
Photo by Norman Tsui / Unsplash
Reindeer can’t fly
Yes, we’ve all been to the zoo and seen for ourselves that reindeer don’t have wings, and most certainly cannot fly. Neither do they have big, red, shiny noses. However, new discoveries are made every day. Statistical models suggest the total number of species on Earth to be 8.7 million, yet only 1.64 million species have been named to date. This leaves 7.06 million still to be discovered. Who are we to rule out flying reindeer?
But it’s an open sleigh?
It is estimated that in order to pull a sleigh whereby each child receives no more than one two-pound present, along with the added weight of an ever so slightly round Santa, 214,200 reindeer would be required. That is 353,430 tonnes of reindeer travelling at 6,400 miles per hour! At this point I hope the physicians out there are raising the alarm. The air resistance created here mirrors that of a rocket re-entering the atmosphere. Hence, the reindeer would instantly burst into flames burning Santa, in his open top sleigh, to a crisp, if he had not already been killed by the colossal centrifugal forces. To counteract this, Santa would need the biggest heat shield in history. But who says elves can’t be aerospace engineers at the weekend?
Photo by Caleb Woods / Unsplash
We’re assuming there is only one Santa?
If we take a look at the history, we see that the concept of Santa Claus can be traced back to approximately 280 A.D., to a monk named St Nicholas. Even the fittest of fellas could not jet around the world spreading Christmas cheer at the age of 1,738 years old, rendering Santa Claus little more than a memory. However, if we assume that Mr and Mrs Claus were childhood sweethearts and had their first child in their early 20s, there is room for an amazing 69 generations of Clauses. Thus, one could conclude that in the present day there is not just one Santa Claus, but in fact a team of Clauses soaring the skies and putting smiles on children’s faces.
So, with the evidence weighed up, it is possible that there really is a Santa Claus. Perhaps he has an aerodynamically advanced sleigh, perhaps a team of flying reindeers. At the very least, we know how Rudolf got his fiery red nose. But for those of you who don’t believe, or really did see mommy kissing Santa Claus, don’t tell the children; Santa really is the most magical mystery of all.
Featured Image: arun kuchibhotla/ Unsplash
Do you believe in (the physics of) Santa? Let us know!