The Physics of Roller Coasters Essay - 1483 Words

The Physics of Roller Coasters The roller coaster has its beginnings in Russia where during the 1600s. People crafted sleds out of wood and built hills made of ice blocks. The hills had sand at the bottom to help slow down the sleds so they would not crash when they reached the bottom of the hill.1 Over time, the roller coaster has become more complex. They now are taller, faster and are designed out of different materials like wood and steel. Although roller coasters are fun and exciting, the questions, what allows them to twist and turn, go up and down hills at a fairly good speed? Why do they not fall off of the track when it goes through a loop? The answer to these questions and others about roller coasters lies in the application†¦show more content†¦Then as the coaster begins its decent down the first hill, the energy is converted back into kinetic energy as the train is pulled toward the Earth by gravity. Gravity is the traditional source of power for roller coasters that accelerates the train as i t goes on its hilly, twisty journey.3 Gravity is a unit of acceleration, that is always present, that causes free-falling objects on Earth to change their speed at a rate of approximately 10 m/s (32ft/s) every second.1 So, as the train goes down the hills of the track it has a positive acceleration giving it the necessary potential energy to â€Å"climb† the next hill, make a turn, or travel through a loop. Also, as the train goes down the hills and loops, it experiences a free fall effect. This occurs when an object falls and is not inhibited by other objects2 (314-315). As the train goes down the hill, the coasters’ mass causes it to accelerate faster than the people in the car. During the free fall stages of the ride the train does not exert any pressure on the riders or the track causing the riders to feel momentarily weightlessness. This is why the train has wheels on the bottom of the track and the passengers of the train have some sort of restraining device to hold them into their seats.3 So, as the train goes down the hill it is actually falling, causing the velocity of the train to increase due to theShow MoreRelatedRoller Coaster Physics1483 Words   |  6 PagesIndividuals love to go to the amusement parks and try out the rides that are available. The most common and thrilling ride is the roller coaster. An amusement park is not an amusement park if it does not contain a roller coaster. What makes these roller coasters so fun that every amuse parks ha s one. A lot of people would say it is their extreme high speeds that makes it very exciting. That is a valid answer, but it is the wrong answer. The speed has nothing to do with the excitement. It is moreRead MoreThe Physics of Roller Coasters1466 Words   |  6 PagesThe anticipation builds. The roller coaster cannot seem reach the peak quickly enough. The train clicks and clacks as it slowly ascends to the summit. Your hands sweat from your tight grasp on to the single lap bar that keeps you in your seat... And on that thought, the adrenaline pumps through your blood. Suddenly your body is flung forward as you plummet down the first drop. Then you are being forced down on the cart’s seat as you arch the bottom of the transition to going up the second hill. WindRead MoreThe Physics of Roller Coasters1551 Words   |  7 PagesPeople sometimes engage in activities and are unaware that such activity involves physics. Physics is all around. For instance, you may go to Six Fla gs and do not analyze how physics helps the machines you ride in operate. Have you ever asked yourself how a roller coaster works? Would roller coasters safely run without the knowledge that physics offers us? The answer is no. Roller coasters are driven by physics; it mobilizes and gives its riders amusement through forces such as inertia, gravitationRead MoreThe Physics Of Roller Coasters1209 Words   |  5 PagesEver since the first commercial roller coaster was built in the United States in 1884, roller coasters have been seen in amusement parks all around the world. These rides, seen in all shapes and sizes, are widely recognized for their thrills. At sudden twists and turns, riders experience large levels of excitement. But what makes a roller coaster so exciting? The answer is physics. In the process of designing roller coasters, engineers use concepts such as Newton’s three laws of motion to makeRead MorePhysics Principles Of Roller Coasters1047 Words   |   5 Pagesresearch topic was about the different physics principles that apply to roller coasters. I am to state not only the different types of principles but as well some laws of physics. Roller coasters are not an easy thing to build, one can yes build it but in order to make it succeed there are many ideas that come together and many calculations. I selected this topic because I never paid much attention to all of that work engineers have to do in order to make a roller coaster successful and also because I seeRead More Physics of Roller Coasters Essay1752 Words   |  8 Pages Roller coasters are driven almost entirely by inertial, gravitational and centripetal forces. Amusement parks keep building faster and more complex roller coasters, but the fundamental principles at work remain the same. A roller coaster is like train. It consists of a series of connected cars that move on tracks. But unlike a passenger train, a roller coaster has no engine or power source of its own. For most of the ride, a roller coaster is moved only by the forces of inertiaRead MorePushing the Sensory Human Experience: The Physics of Roller Coasters1469 Words   |  6 Pagesexperience? Physics allows roller coasters to give the human an adrenaline rush. With physics, engineers are able to mathematically calculate each experience a rollercoaster has without even having the rollercoaster built yet. The equations of the rollercoasters allow the engineer to know the forces released on the body, the speed and acceleration of the train, the energy lost due to friction and the resistance. Before the understanding of the theories derived from physics, roller coasters were limitedRead MoreNewtons Laws of Motion858 Words   |  3 PagesTo walk is not as hard as running, so less force is needed to succeed in doing it (Forester). This leads us to the third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction (Newton’s Third Law). Another concept of Physics is moving water. For example, flushing the toilet, waterfalls and dams. Flushing a toilet is a great example of transferring energy. Usually on most toilets there is tan on the back of it filled with water. Water that is stored is a greatRead MoreThe Coaster Of The Roller Coaster1462 Words   |  6 PagesOur roller coaster is about three and a half feet tall and two feet wide. It has one loop, two funnels, three turns, one five-part zig-zag, and one pulley leading from the end to the top, and four bells that rang and vibrated when the marble hit them. Our group divided the work by, assigning people jobs, then switching after a while. An example of that some people would score and other group members would fold, or some would build and others would test, and we took turns switching jobs. SomethingRead MoreThe Structure Of Roller Coasters1038 Words   |  5 Pages The structure of roller coasters present many factors in physics and in engineering, engineers must contain an abundance of knowledge and research in order to assure the safety and the structure as a whole. AAPT needs entries at their annual roller coaster competition that include the use of only gravity to get from the beginning to the end of the track, so a structure will be built to present overall knowledge on kinetic and potential energy, as well as calculations. Relating to other fields, this