What would happen if a chicken crashed into Earth at nearly 300,000km/s?

Have you ever imagined what would happen if a turkey flew straight from space to Earth at the speed of light? Would the Earth be severely damaged by a 5-6kg chicken with the ability to move super fast, or would it remain safe and sound as if nothing had happened?

To answer this fascinating question, we first need to learn more about the speed of light. Light travels at a speed of nearly 300,000 km/s (about 1 billion km/h). This means that if a turkey could travel at the speed of light, it could circle the Earth 7.5 times in just one second. Meanwhile, it would take just over a second to reach the Moon, and about 8 minutes to reach the Sun.

What would happen if a roasted turkey - a popular dish on Thanksgiving in the West - crashed into Earth?

Remarkably, the turkey itself also possesses extremely terrifying "destructive" power if it moves at the highest speed possible in the universe. According to Einstein's famous equation E = mc² (where E is energy, m is mass and c is the speed of light), mass and energy are proportional to each other by the constant c. Energy can be converted to mass and vice versa. In other words, the faster an object moves, the greater its mass.

For example, if a turkey were to travel at 10% the speed of light, its mass would be only 0.5% greater than normal. But if it were to travel at 90% the speed of light, its mass would double. Remarkably, once the turkey reaches the speed of light, its mass (and thus energy) would become infinite. However, this is considered impossible, as no normal object can travel at or faster than the speed of light.

However, even if it were traveling at 99.99% the speed of light, the damage the turkey would cause to Earth would still be enormous , thanks to the tremendous amount of energy it would generate. Specifically, when it entered the Earth's atmosphere, it would create a continuous chain of explosions 40,000 times more powerful than the meteorite that exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk in 2013, which injured 1,000 people.

The enormous energy released by the turkey would create a shockwave so powerful it would destroy every structure within a radius of thousands of kilometers. The atmosphere would be locally burned, causing widespread forest fires and immediate global climate change.

Not only that, the energy released when the chicken hits could vaporize a large part of the Earth's surface, creating a giant impact crater. The scene would be similar to the meteorite collision that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago – but with much greater force.

While it is a strange hypothesis, the story of the turkey hurtling towards Earth at the speed of light is a fascinating illustration of how physics works in the universe. It also highlights how even small things – like a turkey – can have a huge impact under extreme conditions. Science has shown us once again how surprising and amazing the natural world can be.

In addition, the destructive power of an object as small as a turkey when reaching the speed of light also helps us understand phenomena such as cosmic rays, black holes and other cosmic events. At the same time, it is also a reminder of the terrifying power of nature and the fragility of our planet.

This is just some of the damage a turkey can cause when it crashes into Earth at the speed of light. To learn more about the terrifying force a turkey can cause to our planet, please watch the video below by the popular science YouTube channel WHAT IF.