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Physics research paper about roller coasters
Physics research paper about roller coasters
What factors could determine the speed of the roller coaster
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Introduction and Background Research
Introduction
Rollercoasters are the product of intense, terrifying and thrilling manipulation of physics. However, there are physical limits in the design of a rollercoaster to ensure safe function while maximising fun. These physical limits include: The mass of a rollercoaster, so that it can: Safely and satisfactorily complete the course Maintain exhilaration The loops in the track, so that the rollercoaster: Can safely travel the entire loop Prevent injury in riders through controlling the size of forces acted
What are the Physics of Rollercoasters?
Energy
Rollercoasters work through utilising gravity and switching between potential energy and kinetic energy. Most rollercoasters start from rest
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This can be achieved through either the rollercoaster travelling at a very fast speed or a smaller radius of the loop, as this is the divisor that determines centripetal acceleration. In circular loops, where the angle of turn is constant for the entire turn, rollercoasters must start the loop at a relatively high speed to ensure that this speed would be continued at the top. However, this impacts the riders through acting upon a greater force that is not only uncomfortable but can also cause injury.
Consequently, most loops are no longer circular and are rather clothoid, which allows for the forces needed to complete the loop to be balanced more easily. Clothoid loops work through having a sharper top turn than its sides and having a lower radius compared to circular loops, which in turn increases centripetal acceleration. This allows for rollercoasters to travel at slower speeds but still produce sufficient and necessary centripetal acceleration. Clothoid loops also provide deacceleration along its exit due to its wider radius, ultimately maintaining and safely applying essential forces for completion of the loop. Clothoid loops are hence safer for
Every year an estimated 290 million people all over the world flock to amusement and theme parks to experience the thrills and excitement of the modern day roller coaster. (Boldurian 16). Now thousands of people a day can safely experience the G-forces that an astronaut or fighter pilot would experience in flight. "The Revolution" a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia California gives riders an amazing 4.9 Gs; that is 1.5 more than an astronaut at launch. (Boldurian 16). These G-forces create thrills and fear and excitement in all who ride them. But the truth is that there is no reason to fear. Roller Coasters are exceptionally safe. The mortality rate for roller coasters is one in 90 million, and most of the fatality occurred due to failure to follow safety guidelines. (Boldurian 17). But roller coasters have not always been this safe. One of the first coaster attractions was actually just a mine rail designed to bring coal to the base of the mountain (Lemelson-MIT Program). The attraction was a thirty minute ride, with speeds of more than one-hundred miles per hour. As time went on entrepreneurs in the late 1800's began creating “quick buck cheap thrill attractions.” These early coasters lacked safety for the sake of thrills. This changed when John A. Miller engineer and roller coaster designer began making coasters. John Miller held over 100 patents many of which were for roller coaster safety and functionality that are still used today (Lemelson-MIT Program). John Miller's inventions and improvements to the roller coaster make him the father of the modern roller coaster that we know today.
Ever wondered how roller coasters work? It’s not with an engine! Roller coasters rely on a motorized chain and a series of phenomena to keep them going. Phenomena are situations or facts that have been observed and proven to exist. A few types of phenomena that help rollercoasters are gravity, kinetic and potential energy, and inertia. Gravity pulls roller coasters along the track as they’re going downhill. Potential and kinetic energy help rollercoasters to ascend hills and gain enough momentum to descend them and finish the track. Inertia keeps passengers pressed towards the outside of a loop-the-loop and in their seat. Gravity, potential and kinetic energy, and inertia are three types of phenomena that can be observed by watching roller
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.
The second one is Gold Striker, one of the favorite’s roller coaster for kids. This roller coaster is tallest and fastest wooden in Northern California; Gold Striker stands 108.2 Feet High and travels 53.7 MPH (Great America). So many people want to try Gold Striker because of its sheer height, not to mention the fact that the ride spanned almost the entire park. To go that fast for so long seemed so thrilling to people. It's been by far the most fun amusement park ride people have ever been on. The last one is Superman roller coaster, one of the favorite’s roller coaster for kids and adults. It over-sized strength, mega speed, and pretty much at the top of his class when it comes to flying (Six Flags). where as most rides have you buckled to seat and have you rigidly set in place, the Superman has you riding with your hands out front and your feet behind you, like a superhero flying through the air. People are really enjoying riding the Superman. On a lot of roller coasters, it seems like your eyes spend the majority of the time looking at the seats in front of you. On the Superman, you're facing toward the ground, away from the track and all the other parts of the
With the opening of America’s first roller coaster in 1873, a new innovative market was introduced into the American industrial market. With it came a new set of challenges that pushed the limits of the engineering methods used at the time. Oddly enough though, America’s safest roller coaster ever built was also the simplest; the Mauch Chunk Railway was originally used to bring coal down the mountainside of a Pennsylvania mine. The now unused 2,322 feet of track was re-opened a few months later for the purpose of carrying passengers down the side of the mountain. The rail cars used did not have brakes or an engine; they simply used the force of gravity to take the train and its passengers, sometimes at speeds upwards of 60 miles per hour, down the side of the mountain until it came to a rest at the bottom. “The railway offered spectacular views of the Lehigh River and the Blue Ridge Mountains for the region's visitors to see. The area became a large Nineteenth Century tourist attraction and people came from all over to be thrilled by the M.C.R.” (Sandy). Throughout the ride’s 56-year span of passenger operation, not a single injury was reported. Since the ever-simplistic entertainment methods of the 1920’s, our industrial capabilities have grown in geometric proportions; however the one problem is they have been severely lagged by the safety and control systems that govern them. Recently, however, advancements in computer technology have yielded a drastic improvement in these control systems that have allowed ride designers to design increasingly safer and more reliable ride systems.
Roller coasters come in all sizes and configurations. Roller coasters are designed to be intense machines that get the riders’ adrenaline pumping. Ever since my first roller coaster ride, I knew I was hooked. I cannot get enough of the thrilling sensation caused by these works of engineering. When people board these rides, they put their faith in the engineers who designed the rides and the people who maintain and operate the rides. In this paper, I will bring to your attention a specific instance when the operation of one of these coasters came into question and led to a very tragic incident. From this, I will look into the events leading up to the incident and evaluate the decisions made by the people involved.
While he or she would experience the lowest speed at the top of the loop. The relationship between potential and kinetic energy in a roller coaster can be a good example of the “energy theory,” and how the different energy flow can make thing work.(www.real-world-physics.html)Roller coasters also apply to all of newton's laws of motions. Since newton's first law says that an “object at rest stays at rest, or object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon an unbalanced force.” So since an object at rest stays at rest” all roller coaster have to be push or pull to start and just like they have to apply brakes to stop it. Then the thrill of acceleration on a roper coaster come from newton's second law. You can feel newton's 2nd law when the driver start going down the hills. Using the coaster car and the driver mass, then the gravity that helps provide acceleration end up causing force. You can feel that force as the car moves along the coaster track. Then again, the change in acceleration can change the amount of force that is use. Then newton's 3rd law of every action has an equal and opposite reaction can also be apply when riding in a roller coaster. The example of newton's 3rd law would be when
Many people do not realize exactly how a roller coaster works. What you may not realize when you are cruising down the track at over 60 miles per hour, is that the roller coaster does not have a motor or engine. At the beginning of the ride the car is pulled to the top of the first hill where it comes to a momentary halt. At this point its potential energy is at a maximum and the kinetic energy is at a minimum. As the car falls down the hill it is losing potential energy and is gaining kinetic energy. It is this kinetic energy that keeps the car going throughout the remainder of the ride. The conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy is what drives the roller coaster, and all of the kinetic energy you need for the ride is present once the coaster descends the first hill. Once the car is in motion, different types of wheels keep the ride running smooth. Various running wheels help guide the coaster around the track. Friction wheels control lateral motion. A final set of wheels keeps the coaster on the track even if the coaster is inverted. Compressed air brakes are used to stop the coaster as it comes to an end.
Roller coasters are originated from Russian ice slides in the seventeenth century throughout Russia. The ice slide’s structure was built out of lumber with a sheet of ice several inches thick covering the surface. Moving on, there are some dispute as to who added wheels to the equation and who created the rollercoaster between the Russians and French. In 1817, it is known that two coasters were built in France called the Les Montagues a Belleville and Promenades Aeriennes, both of which featured cars that locked to the track in some manner. It is said that Belleville’s ride was the first roller coaster to lock the cars to the track and were designed so that the axle of each car fit into an open area carved in the side of the track. The Aerial
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 of basic physics principals. These principals include potential and kinetic energy, gravity, velocity, projectile motion, centripetal acceleration, friction, and inertia.
You apprehensively walk up the iron steps and onto the platform. You’re reluctant to go any further, but your friend eggs you on, saying, “It’s not that fast.” You step into the seat and pull the harness down over you. No, this isn’t the latest, greatest technological frontier. It’s a roller coaster. Since 1804 when the first wheeled roller coaster- called “Les Montagnes Russes”- was constructed in Paris, France, roller coasters have been a staple of adventure and fantasy among children and children-at-heart. But there’s no magic involved with these fantastic creations, there’s a plethora of forces and laws governing their every movement. From kinetic energy to inertia, roller coasters are intricate engineering marvels that function through the laws of physics. This is a look into those physics that result in a thrill ride unlike any other.
Not far from the opening gate, I glanced at the first ride I was going to experience, the Cork Screw. The whole entire family was going to ride on the rollercoaster, even my sister Alissa who is terrified of coasters. As I walked up the narrow path that led to the Cork Screw, I could see that there was a large number of people waiting to get onto the ride. While waiting patiently to board the coaster, I gazed up in awe at the Cork Screw, one of the newer roller coasters, which sparkled high above our heads. Twirling hoops and loops were the main attraction of this roller coaster.
“Even though roller coasters propel you through the air, shoot you through tunnels, and zip you down and around many hills and loops, they are quite safe and can prove to be a great way to get scared, feel that sinking feeling in your stomach, and still come out of it wanting to do it all over again (1).” Thanks to the manipulation of gravitational and centripetal forces humans have created one of the most exhilarating attractions. Even though new roller coasters are created continuously in the hope to create breathtaking and terrifying thrills, the fundamental principles of physics remain the same. A roller coaster consists of connected cars that move on tracks due to gravity and momentum. Believe it or not, an engine is not required for most of the ride. The only power source needed is used to get to the top first hill in order to obtain a powerful launch. Physics plays a huge part in the function of roller coasters. Gravity, potential and kinetic energy, centripetal forces, conservation of energy, friction, and acceleration are some of the concepts included.
Amusement parks are by far one of the most thrilling places on earth. As you wait in a long line to get in park, you can hear numerous kids, adults, and tourist shouting off the top of their lungs due to a tremendous jaw-dropping drop on their beloved roller coasters.
Both can be very traumatizing to people and it may cause them to never ride roller coasters ever again. One incident happened in 1986 at West Edmonton Mall, Canada where three people died and one man was in a serious injury. The roller coaster was called The Mindbender, known for the world’s largest and safest indoor roller coaster (Purdy, 2016). The accident happened when the Mindbender was going a hundred kilometers when it battered a pillar and flinged four passengers to the ground. A man name Rod Chayko was the only survivor and apparently the three people died were his friends.