Yesterday someone drew my attention to videos on the internet where people tried to cook a chicken by by slapping it. According to the person, it was possible to cook a chicken by slapping it so I got really interested in the topic and wanted to understand how it was possible but before I jump to the grocery store to get a chicken and start giving some very hard slap on the butt, wing, laps, and breast, I needed to understand what science really did say about it. Is it possible to turn kinetic energy in my hands to thermal energy and can the energy be sufficient to cook a whole full chicken?
First I am not a physicist, I enjoy my time on health science and human anatomy and will do all I can to run away from physics but theoretical, classical or practical but this just got my attention and I could not say no to understanding what was going on. You can also do your research on this topic or if you are one that likes to experiment, you can get a chicken and start the slapping practical but please ensure you have enough strength, time, and agility (this is where I sound like I need a sponsor on this post so I will just mention their brand name. That would have been cool but whatever results you get, please share it here on StemSocial so we can follow up as well).
The go to place for such search is Google, and I saw there were a lot of discussion on this topic with even some calculations, so it got more interesting. This was a good place to start because I wanted answers.
(Screenshot Image from my web search)
In my findings for what would be an answer, I was taken to a reddit post written on Monday 15th, October of 2018 where a reddit user U/Goldenharp_Billy asked a question in the subreddit r/shittyaskscience asked if it was possible to convert kinectic energy to thermal energy for the purpose of cooking a chicken from slap?
(Screenshot Image from my web search)
It is visible that the question above was the source of this experiment, and a lot of people really did experiment it. Physicist like Parker Ormonde decided to solve this on his Facebook page. Do not forget that solving is theory and a lot need to be put into place to make it successful practically. A link to his solving is in the reference column.
He explained the formula for converting between kinetic energy and thermal energy as 1/2mv2 =mcT. He then explained that the average human hand weighs about 0.4kg, and the average slap woul be 11m/s or 25mph. He also put it that the average rotisserie chicken would weigh 1kg with a specific heat capacity of 2720J/kg*c and he also assumed that the chicken would become cook at 205oC and would start from 0oC since it would be frozen. He went on to say that the average slap would generate 0.0089oC and so it would take 23,034 slaps on an average. Also, to cook the chicken in one slap, a velocity of 1665.65m/s or 3725mph would be required.
There were a lot of backlash on the calculation especially the one slap velocity. According to people, a slap at such velocity would destroy the chicken like an explosion and it would be impossible for a person to give such slap. Some people stated that the energy transferred to the chicken would be divided into heat and velocity so it would be impossible to cook a chicken with several slaps. There were scenarios of the impossibility of boiling a water in a cup by stirring it consistently.
Actually I saw a lot of videos on YouTube, and a lot of posts on people trying to cook a chicken with slap but non were able get the temperature up even those who simulated hand beating. This wasn't the first time people wanted to cook birds without using heat. In 1987, turkey was dropped from a roof to cook it. The temperature was raised to double with the experiment, but let's also consider that a chicken is lighter than a turkey making the potential energy for turkey higher.
While the idea of cooking a chicken by slapping it is intriguing and makes for an entertaining thought experiment, it remains scientifically impractical. The energy required to heat the chicken through slapping would be enormous, and the methods needed to achieve such energy would likely destroy the chicken rather than cook it. This exploration into the realm of physics demonstrates the limitations of converting kinetic energy into thermal energy for practical purposes. So, for now, it's best to stick to conventional cooking methods.
Post Reference
https://www.reddit.com/user/Goldenharp_Billy/
https://www.reddit.com/r/shittyaskscience/comments
https://www.iflscience.com/people-are-trying-to-cook-chicken-by-slapping-it-after-learning-physics-says-its-possible-58288
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/462/896/50c
https://what-if.xkcd.com/71/
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/safe-internal-cooking-temperatures.html
https://www.wired.com/story/want-a-perfect-turkey-calculate-its-specific-heat-capacity/
https://www.wired.com/2010/12/cooking-a-turkey-by-dropping-it/
Image Reference
Image 1 || Garystockbridge617 || A close up of a rooster's head with a chain link fence in the background
Image 4 || Picryl || Food Meat White
