The Science of Santa

[Bo D]

Somehow, I've always suspected this...

"Researcher explains science behind St. Nick's Christmas magic"

http://www.rdmag.com/News/2009/12/General-Science-Researcher-Explains-Science-Behind-Santa-Sled/

Some excerpts ....

"Santa's sleigh is far more advanced than any modern form of air transportation (see graphic below). "The truss of the sleigh, including the runners, are made of a honeycombed titanium alloy that is very lightweight and 10 to 20 times stronger than anything we can make today," Silverberg says. The truss can also morph, Silverberg adds, altering its shape slightly to improve its aerodynamics and "allowing it to cut through the air more efficiently. The runners on the sleigh, for example, have some flexure. This allows them to tuck in to be more aerodynamic during flight, and then spread out to provide stability for landing on various surfaces – such as steeply pitched roofs."


"Santa's sleigh is far more advanced than any modern form of air transportation The truss of the sleigh, including the runners, are made of a honeycombed titanium alloy that is very lightweight and 10 to 20 times stronger than anything we can make today," Silverberg says. The truss can also morph, Silverberg adds, altering its shape slightly to improve its aerodynamics and "allowing it to cut through the air more efficiently. The runners on the sleigh, for example, have some flexure. This allows them to tuck in to be more aerodynamic during flight, and then spread out to provide stability for landing on various surfaces – such as steeply pitched roofs."

"The sleigh is driven by Santa's well-known team of reindeer, which is equipped with side-mounted jetpacks. The reindeer and jetpacks, which are powered by cold fusion, "are arrayed in such a way as to create a stable reindeer-sleigh system,"

[Henry Hawk]

Now .. THAT is science!!!...

[Anne]

Cute

[Elaine]

what do you have on chimney sliding?

[Sandy Eggo]

That's great!