Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Can a Turkey Escape Thanksgiving?

When in danger, it is a well known fact that turkeys can muster up very high flight speeds. Some legends have it that they can fly at supersonic speeds. 


An often overlooked fact is turkeys are extremely adept at aerodynamics and CFD analysis. They never attempt an unfamiliar regime of flight without careful analysis.

So when told about Thanksgiving, a young bird was not at all happy about its prospects.  It decided to find a way to beat the system.  "Perhaps", it thought,  "I can use my supersonic flight capabilities to escape the humans."

A quick google search revealed that humans have jet aircraft that are also capable of supersonic flight.  What are the consequences (if any) of  supersonic flight and out running a jet?

Stallion 3D Mach number analysis at M = 1.5.

Using it's laptop PC and Stallion 3D, the turkey was able to perform a careful CFD analysis within a few minutes.  A variable of concern was the temperature.

Simulation of Turkey & Jet.  Notice Temperatures....

At Mach 1.5 (a reasonable speed), the analysis showed temperatures of 466 degree K or 380 degrees Fahrenheit on most of the bird's body.



Another quick google search showed that Martha Stewart recommends that you cook your bird at 325 F.

"Hmm.... ", the turkey thought, "Can a turkey ever out run Thanksgiving?" 

"Yes!!!" exclaimed the turkey, answering its own questions, as it applied a gell-like substance (resembling cranberry sauce but with a negligibe coefficient of thermal diffusivity) to the areas indicated by red on the temeprature charts (above picture).



Happy Thanksgiving from Hanley Innovations.
http://www.hanleyinnovations.com/stallion3d.html