The science of the sleigh

Professor Larry Silverberg, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NC State University, focuses on studying and developing tools to describe the interaction between electrical and mechanical forces and to organise the tools into principles and techniques for solving problems.

Silverberg claims that Santa’s sleigh is far more advanced than any modern form of air transportation. “The truss of the sleigh, including the runners, is 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 electronics include laser sensors that can detect upcoming thermals and wind conditions to find the optimal path, making the flight smoother and more energy efficient.

The nanostructured ‘skin’ of the sleigh is porous and contains its own low-pressure system, which holds the air flowing around the airborne sled onto the body, reducing drag by as much as 90%.

Silverberg also claims that Santa uses a reversible thermodynamic processor - a sort of nano-toymaker known as the ‘magic sack’ - that creates toys for good girls and boys on site, significantly cutting down on the overall weight of the sleigh. The magic sack uses carbon-based soot from chimneys, together with other local materials, to make the toys. The magic sack works by applying high-precision electromagnetic fields to reverse thermodynamic processes previously thought to be irreversible.

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”.

Silverberg explains that the sleigh is also equipped to make use of so-called 'relativity clouds' to help ensure Santa and his reindeer can travel approximately 320 million kilometres, making stops in some 80 million homes, in one night. “Based on his advanced knowledge of the theory of relativity, Santa recognises that time can be stretched like a rubber band, space can be squeezed like an orange and light can be bent,” Silverberg says. “Relativity clouds are controllable domains - rips in time - that allow him months to deliver presents while only a few minutes pass on Earth. The presents are truly delivered in a wink of an eye.”