How to Convert 1 Mince Pie into Energy for Santa's Sled

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the hypothetical conversion of a mince pie into energy sufficient to power Santa's sled, exploring various theoretical and humorous approaches to this whimsical problem. Participants engage in both serious and playful suggestions, considering chemical energy, nuclear reactions, and imaginative concepts.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Humorous

Main Points Raised

  • One participant requests serious suggestions for converting a mince pie into approximately 70,000J of energy for Santa's sled.
  • Another participant humorously suggests that eating the pie could provide more energy than needed, implying a personal energy conversion.
  • A suggestion involves using depleted uranium and a gas centrifuge to create a powerful energy source, albeit with a humorous acknowledgment of the destructive potential.
  • Another participant proposes an "anti mince pie reactor" that would annihilate mass for energy release, but acknowledges the excessive energy output.
  • One participant expresses a desire for a more practical approach, likening the energy conversion to how a car uses petrol, while dismissing overly destructive ideas.
  • Another participant questions the seriousness of the discussion, pointing out the absurdity of using mince pies as fuel for an imaginary character.
  • A later reply suggests calculating the energy contained in a mince pie and finding an effective way to harness it, while still appreciating the imaginative reactor idea.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit a mix of serious and humorous responses, with no consensus on a practical solution. Some participants seek theoretical answers, while others engage in playful banter, leading to a blend of competing views and unresolved ideas.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes various assumptions about energy conversion methods, the feasibility of proposed ideas, and the playful nature of the topic, which may limit the seriousness of the responses.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in creative problem-solving, theoretical physics, or humorous takes on energy conversion concepts may find this discussion engaging.

Bunting
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Could anybody give me any suggestions, as to how i could convert 1 mince pie into around about 70 000J of energy, which could be used to power an engine of some sort ?

I ask this, as I am creating a santa statistic :P not very origonal anymore i grant you, however, i was hoping to create a diagram of santas sled and how it works :) so any suggestions, in the christmas spirit are very much appreicated :)
 
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Eat it and you be the engine. The pie should be worth at least 100 times that.

Doug
 
Originally posted by Mathechyst
Eat it and you be the engine. The pie should be worth at least 100 times that.

Doug
everythign i eat is used to power my body, the sled is the body i need to power :)
 
Here's a suggestion:

Go to your local depleted uranium store, pick up ohhh, 26 lbs of the stuff in two separate pieces, smash it together with the mince pie and then put it into a gas centrifuge to separate the lighter U-235 from the heavier non-fissionable U-238. Then get a detonator capable of fusing the two pieces together and voila! You have your power source for santie to go sledding all over the world... in a million pieces, but he is still going all over the world.
 
Obviously you need a mince pie - anti mince pie reactor (and an anti mince pie). As the pies are brought into contact, the pions and anti-pions annihilate each other, completely releasing their mass as energy.

Njorl
 
right, look. I am actually looking for serious answers now, Andthensome, i don't want sometign which would result in santa being blown up, that's just stupid. Njorl, that's a good idea (with the anti-mince pies) however, its a bit too much energy. I want it like you have a fuel tank, and you put pies in it like you do petrol in a car :)

Obviously i don't want a perfect conversion (mass->energy releasing far in excess of a megatonne nuclear explosion's worth of energy). Like it uses chemical energy as te human body does! (but as i have sad, i don't want to know how santa himself can power it !)

thanks!
 
Andthensome, i don't want sometign which would result in santa being blown up, that's just stupid.

LOL, but having mince pies as the fuel source in the sled of an imaginary character isn't? oooookay, whatever.
 
Originally posted by Bunting
right, look. I am actually looking for serious answers now, Andthensome, i don't want sometign which would result in santa being blown up, that's just stupid. Njorl, that's a good idea (with the anti-mince pies) however, its a bit too much energy. I want it like you have a fuel tank, and you put pies in it like you do petrol in a car :)

Obviously i don't want a perfect conversion (mass->energy releasing far in excess of a megatonne nuclear explosion's worth of energy). Like it uses chemical energy as te human body does! (but as i have sad, i don't want to know how santa himself can power it !)

thanks!

But children in other galaxies need toys too!

Njorl
 
if you dpont know an answer then just don't post! if i wanted non related answers i would have put them in the "nobody really wants an answer but uselss replys" forum.

I want a theoretical solution to this problem. Maybe if you say its a car and a person doing the same journey (and wyes, the car can drive over water and through buildings). In fact, let's call it a ghost car.
 
  • #10
hmmmm, can you not work out how much energy is contained in 1 mince pie, find the best way of harnessing that energy and then use that to power his sled?

Seems abit obvious to me, but you may not have thought of that.

I do really like Njorl's Mince pie-anti mince pie reactor though.
 

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