University of Leicester students 'prove' Christmas magic is real

The students said their equation was not able to account for all the energy Santa would require

Physics students have "proved" Santa's magic is real in a light-hearted research paper.

University of Leicester students worked out how much energy Santa would consume from treats left for him versus the amount needed for his trip.

Their equation could not account for all the energy required, and they concluded that only Christmas magic could be responsible for the remainder.

"It's hard for us to grasp where this energy is coming from," they said.

The team said by using a simplified kinetic energy model they calculated the amount of energy needed to power Santa's sleigh around the world would be 1.42 x 10 to the power of 27 joules.

However, if each house gave Santa two 20g cookies, a 25g glass of milk and one carrot for each reindeer, this would generate only 1.723 x 10 to the power of 26 joules.

The students say this leaves a net energy of around 1.25 x 10 to the power of 27 joules unaccounted for.

'Great fun'

In a research paper published in the University's Journal of Physics Special Topics, the students concluded this missing energy could only be explained by magic.

Adam Hennessy, a co-author of the study, said: "We were astounded at the result of our paper! It's hard for us to grasp where this energy is coming from. We would love to develop our model and conduct further research on the so-far under-studied concept of Christmas magic."

The journal is an in-house publication where undergraduate physics students learn about the process of peer review by applying theoretical concepts to light-hearted ideas and writing and reviewing papers.

Dr Mervyn Roy, editor-in-chief of the journal, said: "Our student-led journal can be great fun - but it also gives students a really good grounding for real science.

"They have to think creatively, solve problems and write articles - and they're involved in managing the whole journal process. It's great experience."