Appliance of Science: How do reindeers fly and how can Santa see everything?

It’s time for Christmas lists, Christmas gifts, Christmas treats and lots of extra Christmas questions. Curious minds have lots to wonder about when it comes to Santa and his important deliveries. Here are just some of the questions that children are asking this season;

HOW DO REINDEER FLY?

This question was sent in by seven-year-old Eoin, from Galway.

Santa and his team have likely come up with the technology to travel through space and time using wormholes or relativity clouds. Regardless of what processes they use, it is still clear that the reindeer need to be airborne and move themselves and the sleigh through the air as they travel; so how do they do it?

It would seem that Santa’s reindeer have a few genetic traits that make them different from their nearest, non-flying relatives. Firstly their bone density is less than that of other reindeer species. The bones in their legs are longer and lighter, with hollow pockets and specialised air sacs. The bones of these reindeer species share some features with the bones of birds.

Unlike birds, reindeer do not have feathers, but the hairs of Santa’s reindeer do have hollow shafts within them. The short hairs close to the reindeers’ skin can fluff up to trap air and the longer hairs appear tapered at the ends, making them more aerodynamic. Their antlers have an aerodynamic structure too.

Finally, all reindeer are ruminants, meaning that they have four chambers to their stomach. Santa’s reindeer have an adaptation to their stomach that allows them seal sections off and fill them full of gases, created as they digest their food. These gases are lighter than air, making it easier for them to stay airborne.

CAN SANTA’S ELVES MAKE ANY PRESENT AT ALL?

This question comes in from Eva who is eight and lives in Tipperary.

While it is true that Santa’s team of research elves are probably far advanced in their technology, they cannot actually make everything. It is thought that they were the first to develop 3D printers which they can use to produce a vast quantity of their toys. However, this machinery still has its limits and cannot create living things. It also can’t create large, life sized objects, so that rules out toys like life sized elephants, horses or even unicorns.

HOW CAN SANTA SEE EVERYTHING?

Thanks to six-year-old twins Jamie and Cian from Mayo for sending this question in.

Remember, Santa doesn’t work alone, he has an excellent team of elves that are specialists in data collection. These elves have also reduced the storage required for this information.

Where once it all had to be hand written into books, it can now be stored on microchips and backed up in cloud storage. Satellites also play an important role.

Neuroscientists believe that specific parts of Santa’s brain are highly developed, to allow him retain all the information; areas involved in memory, such as the hippocampus, are thought to be much larger than normal. Maybe that’s the reason that Santa wears such a big hat.

Happy Christmas!

Naomi is a science communicator and mother to three inquisitive children. She can be found at sciencewows.ie

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