The holiday season brings with it many joys, and many questions.
A lot of the questions revolve around Santa Claus, and how can he be real. How can an old overweight man travel the earth delivering toys to children? How can his reindeer fly? How can he carry all those toys? How can he fit down a chimney or otherwise sneak inside homes unnoticed?
Some people just assume it’s impossible, and that’s understandable – for people who lived hundreds of years ago!
But this is the 21st century, and science has advanced a lot since that apple fell on old Issac Newton’s head. Any physicist worth their salt can easily explain how Santa accomplishes all his goals – it’s called quantum mechanics.
It was research in quantum mechanics that made that smart phone so smart. If the world relied only on classical physics, we would be pretty much at a standstill with regard to our understanding of the universe and advancements in technology.
This inability to understand how Santa Claus can do what appears to be impossible is emblematic of our nation failing to embrace and encourage the study of science in school. Science is cool, and science can explain in a variety of ways how Santa gets the job done.
Let’s look at the logistics of getting all those presents delivered in such a short time – 31 hours due to the change in time zones. We could use classical physics from the likes of Albert Einstein who explained that as one increases toward the speed of light, everything else slows down…but quantum physics is more fun
On a quantum level, there’s the double-slit experiment which explains how electrons can appear in two different places simultaneously; then there’s the string theory and the theory of parallel universes. There’s such of variety of explanations that it’s a bit ignorant to say that Santa does not exist because no one can give all those gifts out in just one night.
In the double-slit” experiment, scientists fire a single particle at a steel plate with two separate slits in it. The pattern seen on the other side implies that the particle has passed through both holes at the same time. However, when they attempt to isolate the one slit that the particle passes through – then it seems to pass through only one slit or the other – not both. Crazy, but true.
The problem lies in the observation. If nobody looks to capture what the particle is doing – it keeps all options open – but if someone tries to observe it – then a choice between one slit or the other is chosen….very cool.
So the same can apply to Santa who obviously operates in the quantum world. He can deliver all of his gifts – as long as he is not seen. But if someone tries to see him, that screws everything up. Theoretically, if Santa were ever to be seen, the person who observes him would also get all the presents and gifts he is carrying for the entire world.
We could also apply the “smear theory” as it relates to black holes, “string theory”, or parallel universes — it’s the 21st Century. It’s crazy to say that Santa can’t do get the job done on Christmas Eve.
As for sneaking into people’s homes, you could apply any of the above theories, or you could go back to Einstein and the Theory of Relativity: mass and energy as commonly understood, are two names for the same thing. Perhaps Santa is some type of Shaolin priest who has mastered the art of controlling ‘matter & energy’ – so he can pass through walls like David Carradine.
To make it simple for Newtonians, if Thomas Jefferson told Ben Franklin, “We need to get a copy of the Declaration of Independence to people all over the country at the same time”. Ben would have said, “That’s impossible – besides, what’s the rush?”….But today it is possible. Millions of people can get the same information at the same time.
Yes, today it’s only email….but hey, Santa has always been about the future….No one can say it’s impossible for Santa to visit us all on Christmas.
Originally published on December 22, 2011.