The Physics of Santa — Dave’s Diary

If Albert Einstein were in charge of Santa’s Itinerary, the notes on the cocktail napkin where it was all planned out might've looked a little something like this:

If Santa flies east to west, he’ll have 31 hours to deliver presents rather than just 24, as he’ll match the Earth’s rotation. Assuming Santa doesn’t handle certain religious faiths that don’t allow for Santa, he’ll have about 378 million children to deliver to, which equates to about 91.8 million homes to visit.

That would mean Santa would have to make 822.6 visits per second, and moving at that speed would mean he would age slightly slower than the rest of the people on Earth. Additionally, even if each child received a present no more than two pounds in weight, the sleigh would still weigh more than 320,000 tons, just shy of the Empire State building! That’s a pretty big load for eight tiny reindeer!

You’ve gotta love the magic of Christmas -- even if it’s watered down a bit by the realities of physics! Merry Christmas anyway!