TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Santa's Sleigh Propelled by Smart Technologies

R. Colin Johnson | Date: 12-08-09 | Comments

Recent revelations from Santa's North Pole Lab (NPL) reveal that smart technologies indistinguishable from magic propel his sleigh.

Recent revelations from Santa's North Pole Lab (NPL) reveal that smart technologies indistinguishable from magic propel his sleigh.

Aerospace and mechanical engineer, professor Larry Silverberg at North Carolina State University, just completed a visiting-scholar program at Santa�s Workshop-North Pole Labs (SW-NPL) where he learned about the technologies used to deliver presents worldwide in one night.

"Santa, over a thousand years ago along with his elves, migrated to the North Pole," said Silverberg. "They make up a technologically and morally advanced society with tremendous capabilities--delivering all those presents and pulling-off what is really a miracle."

Santa's advanced technologies range from aerodynamics to thermodynamics to materials science, according to Silverberg. For instance, the trusses of Santa's sleigh are made of a honeycombed titanium alloy that is very lightweight but up to 20 times stronger than steel. The aerodynamic shape of the sleigh and its runner also morph during flight, to reduce drag while in route and to provide extra stability for landings on steeply pitched roofs.

All the outer surfaces of the sleigh are covered in a nanostructured "skin" that is porous and according to Silverberg maintains a constant low-pressure zone around the sleigh, thereby quelling turbulence to reduce drag by as much as 90 percent.

The sleigh is also studded with smart sensors, and a special laser range finder that can read the temperature and speed up of winds and thermals up ahead, then calculate an optimal path for maximum energy efficiency.

"Efficiency is key," said Silverberg. "Because a lot of the ongoing research at SW-NPL today focuses on whether magic is a renewable resource."

Santa's most beloved technology is his reversible thermodynamic processor or "magic toy sack." According to Silverberg, Santa's sack manufactures toys inside its skin by converting the pure carbon from soot in chimneys in a reverse-burning process that had been thought to be irreversible. GPS coordinates enable the reversible thermodynamic processor in the sack's skin to assemble the right toy for all good boys and girls just-in-time.

The most advanced technology on Santa's sleigh is the relativity cloud it generates around the vehicle, including his jet-pack equipped reindeer. Using Einstein's theory of relativity, Santa stretches time inside the cloud to correspond to how long it will take him to visit 80 million homes spread over an area of 200 million square miles. The clouds of relativity then maintain a controlled rip-in-time, giving Santa as much time as he needs to deliver the packages which nevertheless appear under trees on the same night.

"Relativity clouds are controllable domains, rips-in-time that allow him months to deliver presents while only a few minutes pass on Earth," said Silverberg. "The presents are truly delivered in a wink of an eye."

Santa's team of reindeer use jet-packs that are powered by cold-fusion reactors, which Silverberg claims is one of NPLs most closely guarded secrets.