Santa is a busy man on Christmas eve and Christmas day. In these two days he may have to deliver billions of presents to billions of people. Reporter Tom Chivers from the Telegraph revealed that Santa’s sleigh would have to travel at 10.7 million km’s per hour (Chivers, 2013), 67 times slower than the speed of light. Still, this is would be over 40 times faster than any man-made object (Nasa, 2008). His reindeer would also have to travel at this speed; in theory, the acceleration itself would be deadly. If the sleigh managed to reach that maximum speed in 3.5 seconds it would be near 86595g. Even if the sleigh managed to reach that speed in 1 hour it would still be fatal at 84 g (G-force calculator, 2018). According to the Physics Factbook - aerospace medicine, unconsciousness and fatalities can occur at 4 to 6 g; the gravity force would drive the blood away from the heart, lungs and brain causing these life-threatening physiological symptoms (Physics Factbook, 2004).
Conclusion:
Realistically, it is physically impossible to provide presents for billions of people in such short time; however, Christmas is a magical time, our ability to understand the reality of this conception will totally depend on our interpretation. For instance, some believe in Santa Claus because it is traditionally acceptable in society; perhaps, the naughty and nice list exist. Or, the more post-conventional way of thinking could be: gifts are given in different ways and all people can turn into Santa’s helpers by giving rather than taking this Christmas; perhaps, Christmas is more than just about the presents, maybe, it is a time of joy and happiness, love and sharing with family and friends. Anyway, whatever the truth maybe about Christmas, the team of North Care Training wish you all a Merry Christmas and enjoyable holidays!
References:
Chivers, T. (2013) The science of Christmas: Santa Claus, his sleigh, and presents
Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/8188997/The-science-of-Christmas-Santa-Claus-his-sleigh-and-presents.html
Accessed: 23 December 2018
G-force calculator (2018) g-Acceleration Calculator - Linear Motion
Available at: https://rechneronline.de/g-acceleration/
Accessed: 23 December 2018
Nasa (2008) Infographics
Available at: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/infographics/infographic.view.php?id=11489
Accessed: 23 December 2018
Physics Factbook (2004) Acceleration That Would Kill a Human
Available at: https://hypertextbook.com/facts/2004/YuriyRafailov.shtml
Accessed: 23 December 2018