The Science of Santa’s Christmas Eve Marvel!
One of the symbols of Christmas, Santa Claus, how does he deliver gifts to children worldwide? This has been a question since my childhood. Fortunately, I came across a video by Professor Suzuki from the Japanese Institute of Physics, which was shared on the Animax cartoon channel in 2013. I resonate with his perspective, and I’d like to summarize and share the essence of this special research. The content is as follows:
There are approximately 2 billion children on Earth, and Santa visits areas with around 15%, excluding Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, totaling about 300 million children. With an average of 3.5 children per household, this requires around 85 million households.
Considering the time Santa can work due to Earth’s time zones and the international date line, it amounts to about 31 hours. Calculations show that he can visit each house for about 0.00031 seconds.
Assuming 85 million houses are evenly distributed on Earth, the distance between each house would be approximately 1.4 km. Therefore, Santa needs to cover a total distance of 120 million km. To travel this distance in 31 hours, he would need a speed of 40 km per second, which is about 3,000 times the speed of sound.
Assuming each gift weighs 1 kg, the total weight of all gifts would be about 300,000 tons. This would require approximately 2.3 million reindeer to transport.
In the end, the image of Santa Claus flying at the incredible speed of 40 km per second, towing 300,000 tons of gifts with a team of 2.3 million reindeer, seems more symbolic of the magic and wonder of Christmas than a scientific reality. Instead of focusing on the logistical challenges presented by this fantastical scenario, let’s imagine the enchanting sight of this airborne fleet filling the sky and the special joy it brings as families come together. These moments of togetherness and the shared happiness of the holiday season are what truly embody the magic of Christmas. Perhaps, it’s in these moments that we find the genuine spirit of Christmas, transcending the boundaries of scientific inquiry. Wishing you a joyful and magical Christmas!
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7425154277739620016/8295217609223461705?hl=en
Picture: Midjourey / Narration: ElevenLabs / Background Music: CapCut.
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