WEBVTT - How Does Santa's Sleigh Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum Here for all of you Santa

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<v Speaker 1>Claus doubters out there wondering how the Big guy could

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<v Speaker 1>possibly make it across the world in one night. Take

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<v Speaker 1>a good look at Star Trek. Although the USS Enterprise

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<v Speaker 1>is a fictional spaceship from a fictional television show, the

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<v Speaker 1>idea of traveling at superliminal speeds that is faster than

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<v Speaker 1>the speed of light is a concept that a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of scientists have considered. When Einstein wrote down his famous

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<v Speaker 1>E equals MC squared formula, he was saying that mass

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<v Speaker 1>is energy in a very concentrated form. If you could

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<v Speaker 1>take matter and convert it into energy, it could create

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<v Speaker 1>an incredible source of power. Let's think about it. That

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<v Speaker 1>C squared in the equation is the speed of light

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<v Speaker 1>times the speed of light. That's three thousand meters per

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<v Speaker 1>second squared. Even if you had a tiny bit of

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<v Speaker 1>mass the letter M in the equation, the letter E

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<v Speaker 1>on the other side could be really big. So how

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<v Speaker 1>do you make that e big enough to travel around

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<v Speaker 1>the world in one night on a sleigh with nine

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<v Speaker 1>or more reindeer? For that matter, Although no one may

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<v Speaker 1>ever know for sure how Santa operates. The House to

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<v Speaker 1>works crew has what we think are the most logical

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<v Speaker 1>explanations for how the big guy accomplishes everything that he

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<v Speaker 1>does science and technology, and we think that Santa could

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<v Speaker 1>have mastered the power of anti matter, which is one

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<v Speaker 1>of the concepts that NASA has examined to build an

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<v Speaker 1>engine that could propel a ship to Mars using a

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<v Speaker 1>chunk of fuel smaller than an eminem, So we think

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<v Speaker 1>Santa and his elves would have to outfit his sleigh

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<v Speaker 1>with an anti matter propulsion engine. This device will allow

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<v Speaker 1>Santa to deliver toys around the world in one night

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<v Speaker 1>and be back in North Pole in time for a

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas Day feast. So what is anti matter and what

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<v Speaker 1>makes it so important in santa sleigh? Antimatter is sort

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<v Speaker 1>of what it sounds like, the opposite of matter. Antimatter

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<v Speaker 1>particles are like mirror images of normal particles with the

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<v Speaker 1>same mass, but some properties reversed, like their electric charge.

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<v Speaker 1>When matter and antimatter collide, they annihilate each other, creating

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<v Speaker 1>a complete conversion of matter into energy. NASA's research eventually fizzled,

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<v Speaker 1>but Santa is way ahead of the game. One reason

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<v Speaker 1>it's so hard for us to build a matter antimatter

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<v Speaker 1>engine is because of the lack of antimatter in the universe.

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<v Speaker 1>The scientists believe that during the Big Bang there was

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<v Speaker 1>more matter than antimatter, and that most of the antimatter

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<v Speaker 1>was annihilated. Unfortunately, we can make antimatter ourselves with big

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<v Speaker 1>atom smashers like cern. We think that Santa could have

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<v Speaker 1>a large stock of antimatter in the North Pole. Another

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<v Speaker 1>big problem with antimatter propulsion drives is the intense amount

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<v Speaker 1>of gamma radiation released from the matter antimatter collision. Since

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<v Speaker 1>this type of radiation is very harmful, it could put

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<v Speaker 1>Santa and the reindeer at risk, so we surmise that

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<v Speaker 1>he must have some kind of shielding system in place,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps in his suit, sleigh bells, or in the sleigh itself.

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<v Speaker 1>Now that we've explored the science behind Santa's sleigh, let's

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<v Speaker 1>look at who else is tracking the flight path. The

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<v Speaker 1>North American Airspace Defense Command or nora AD, is a

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<v Speaker 1>military organization run by both the United States and Canada,

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<v Speaker 1>and its job is to monitor all possible aerial attacks

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<v Speaker 1>coming into North America. With a massive amount of radar

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<v Speaker 1>systems installed across Canada, nora AD can track quite a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of airspace movement. NORAD keeps an eye on more

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<v Speaker 1>than just potential attacks, however, as they have tracked Santa's

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<v Speaker 1>movements for more than fifty years. The tradition began in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty five when NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense

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<v Speaker 1>Command or KANAD, received several calls from children hoping to

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<v Speaker 1>speak with Santa. A Sears department store had mistakenly listed

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<v Speaker 1>Santa's number as kanad's operations hotline. The director of operations

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<v Speaker 1>at the time, one Colonel Harry Shop, located Santa Sleigh

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<v Speaker 1>on radar, and the tradition was passed a NORAD when

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<v Speaker 1>it formed. In Today, you can still call or send emails,

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<v Speaker 1>and hundreds of volunteers spend their Christmas Eve relaying information

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<v Speaker 1>to thousands of children curious about Santa's whereabouts and so

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<v Speaker 1>how do they do it? They simply take the same

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<v Speaker 1>technology used for detecting missiles and apply it to Santa Sleigh.

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<v Speaker 1>NORAD uses heat seeking geosynchronous satellites to track missiles, and

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<v Speaker 1>since missiles give off lots of heat when they're fired,

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<v Speaker 1>it's fairly easy to track them. Since Santa's antimatter propulsion

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<v Speaker 1>rocket would get pretty hot as it travels around the world,

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<v Speaker 1>no ad could figure out his general location throughout the night.

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<v Speaker 1>Rudolph's nose might give off some extra heat to making

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<v Speaker 1>it all the easier to follow the slaves progress throughout

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas Eve and if evidence from one major organization isn't enough,

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<v Speaker 1>As of two thousand and six, the Federal Aviation Administration

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<v Speaker 1>or f a A cleared Santa for flight and during

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<v Speaker 1>normal years. This organization is responsible for ensuring this safety

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<v Speaker 1>of millions of holiday travelers with a complex network of

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<v Speaker 1>air traffic control systems, so it's only fitting that they've

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<v Speaker 1>recognized jolly old st Nick's flight path. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by John Fuller and produced by Tyler Clang. For

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and lots of other curious topics, visit

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. Or more podcasts by heart Radio, visit

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