This time of year it’s become traditional in the science world for a physicist to attempt to explain how Santa can visit so many homes in such a short time period. The intrepid Father Christmas needs to visit 700 million children in a single night, fit down chimneys (or find other was to enter houses) and arrive without being to distribute presents.
Dr Katy Sheen, a physicist at Exeter University explains to The Daily Telegraph that the riddle can be solved by looking at Einstein’s work. The theory runs that Santa and his reindeer travel around the world at such a fast speed that (based on Einstein’s special theory of relativity) they shrink. This allows Santa to squeeze through any space. The speed required is a mind-boggling 6.2 million miles per hour. This allows Santa to visit every child (whether or not they’ve been naughty or nice) in 31 hours (this takes into account different times zones).
Relativity can also be used to explain why Santa doesn’t age — because relatively speaking time slows down for objects moving at high speed.
As to the most popular of the perennial reindeer? Rudolph’s red nose is explained by some scientists as air friction and his nose getting too hot as he guides Santa’s sleigh.
Christmas trees remain popular items, although many homes are opting for artificial ones. To fight back against the tide of PVC ‘real’ Christmas tree producers are funding a Christmas Tree Research Center in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia in Canada. The aim of the research base, Modern Farmer reports, is to make fir trees better and more suitable for homes. To this end the researchers have developed the SMART Balsam fir. The ‘SMART’ is an acronym for some scientific gobbledygook: “senescence modulated abscission regulated technology.” What’s more important is how the tree differs to others.
The new tree is a clone and by cloning trees the research group hope to standardize the traditional Christmas tree. With fir trees, some grow shorter and fatter than others; some are taller and thinner; some are dense. The new tree overcomes these factors.
Keeping with trees, for those worried about needles falling off, some research has shown LED lights help to prevent this. That is, fewer needles fall when lights are on compared to when they are off. For those who prefer colored lights, the effects are better with red LEDs compared with any other color (including white lights).
Many people enjoy a festive drink over Christmas, but be careful with the nutmeg. The spice is a hallucinogen, although the properties only kick in after large quantities. This arises because nutmeg contains compounds that carry an intense and rather unpleasant hallucinogenic high, based on a volatile oil.
For those still searching for a last minute Christmas gift, and enjoy listening to holiday music, Science reports that Harvard University physicists have invented a radio receiver the size of two atoms. The radio is the world’s smallest. It’s been fashioned using a method termed nitrogen-vacancy. Here the inventors manipulated the atoms in a diamond crystal to function as the receiver. A green laser provides power and the device is tuned by way of an electromagnet as the tuner. The first tunes played on the device have been a series of jolly Christmas tracks, as shown in the following YouTube video:
Looking at something more grounded in religion, the Christmas star, also known as the Star of Bethlehem, decorates many homes in December. With the star some scientists wonder what the star actually was. This is because there is no longer any star in the supposed position necessary for the three kings (or wise men) to follow. This has led some scientists to speculate that the star has since gone supernova. Others guess the star was in fact a comet (a ‘shooting star’).
We hope these science facts haven’t taken away too much Christmas magic. Please continue to follow Digital Journal’s science content into the New Year.
