Can a Horse Fly?
Why am I bothering with such a silly question? Because Egyptians are tying themselves in knots arguing about whether this actually happened 1400 years ago. Not to pick on the Egyptians, (nice people,) everybody else believed in flying horses at some point. in any case, the answer is “No! Horses cannot fly!” And here is why (*):
1. Typical weight of a horse: ~ 300 Kilogram. (**)
2. The weight of a horse + rider: W(h+r) = ~ 370 Kg.
3. The force required to lift the horse & rider: ~ 370 X 9.81 = 3,630 Newton. [9.81 m/s.s is g, the acceleration due to gravity.]
4. Suppose the horse and the rider rose up 10 kilometers. Then they acquired a potential energy: E(p) = W(h+r) X 10,000 m = ~ 36,300,000 Joules.
5. To get there, the horse needs to expend an equal amount of kinetic energy E(k) = E(p) = ~ 36,300,000 Joules.
6. In order to do that in, say, 10 minutes, the horse needs to have the power P = E(k) / (10 X 60) = ~ 60,500 Watts = ~ 81 horsepower
This means that the horse needs to have the power of 81 horses to fly. There is no such horse. (In scientific terms, the ability to fly is determined by the power-to-weight ratio. In creatures meant to fly, that ratio is quite high. In earth-bound creatures, like us and horses, it is far too low.)
This type of simple analysis (based on first principles,) is called “back-of-the envelope” calculation. It is aimed at quickly finding a rough estimate. I encourage professors of science and engineering to train their students in this type of analysis.
Here is another back-of-the-envelope calculation to show that horses can’t fly::
– Energy needed for the 10-Km flight is 36,300,000 Joules = 8,676 Kilocalories
– Number of calories in a Kilogram of hay: 600
– Number of kilograms of hay necessary for 1-way journey = 8,676 / 0.6 = 18,333 Kg.
– Capacity of the horse’s digestive system: ~ 20 gallons, or 12.5 Kg of hay max.
This means that the horse can never have enough energy to make the trip on one feeding. (That is why horses continuously feed and poo all day.)
____________________________
*) Some knowledge of elementary physics is required to follow.
**) All numbers are rounded. The sign ~ means approximately.
يمكنك دعم الموقع من هنا
مؤسسة ندى لحماية الفتيات
This presupposes that we are talking physics and not miraculous happenings.
For the sake of self preservation, I’m staying on the fence on this one.
تحياتي وبالغتقديري
Horses can fly …in aeroplanes and any other ,still not invented, transportation method .
Actually it was not a flying Pegasus or horse , It was a Donkey !
Maybe they thought horses could fly before Sir Isaac Newton found out about earth gravity which is the base of some of the above calculations !!! 😃 😃 :D
You mean really that “HORSES DO NOT FLY “😅😀😅
..ولكنه ، عندنا ، يطير !!
There is an easy rebuttal to my post: “Miracles are not subject to Physics!” Fair enough; so what is the post good for? Its main purpose is to demonstrate how to think critically, using the simplest of scientific principles. In my experience, the ability to do so is a valuable asset.
However, a nuclear powered horse using only 1 mg of nuclear fuel may generate
90 million kJ of energy💪
1mg x 10^-3 g/mg x 10^-3 Kg/g x 9 x 10^16 (m/s)^2=
9 x 10^10 joules = 90 million Kj assuming 100% efficiency.
Thanks, Dr. Farid, for the compliment. I’m, however, very far from being a noted theologian.
A month ago, I was invited by a member of the Union Church of Cupertino to speak to a group of senior ladies. My friend entitled my talk as the “Miracles of Chemistry”🙏
And while I wasn’t able to turn lead into gold, instead, I changed a mixture of white grape juice, Windex, liquid plumber and 5 ml of very dilute solution of silver nitrate, into a brilliant silver mirror! The thunderous applause was deafening👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏😄
I also spoke on energy and power!!
The power of speech, the written word, and the ICE(Internal Combustion Engine)
I concluded my talk by referring to the two most incredible naturally occurring substances: water and clays. And, as you, Dr. Farid know ( but like to dismiss), God created Adam from these two substances!!
I almost heard one of the congregants whisper” Praise the Lord”! And to which, I whispered back
الله اكبر
Now, and in order to answer your profound question, it is for me to humbly say, I know how and why chemical reactions occur, but when it comes to the universe, I may be able to answer the “how” but not the “why”.
And you, Dr. Farid, most probably know that most of us began the study of science by learning about biology and living organisms, but to delve deeper into metabolism and DNA( heredity), biologists became chemists( biochemists), then to learn about how energy is stored and used, biochemists studied physics and became biochemical physicists. And finally when physicists attempted to answer the ultimate question about the origin of the universe and life, they failed, they became philosophers!!!
Here is how horses can fly😄
https://youtu.be/REpkB2SEeDg
Physics and Metaphysics should NOT be mixed up!