Physics in Roller Coasters by Aaron Ho

Acceleration

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The rate at which the speed or direction changes is referred to as acceleration. Roller coasters that are changing their speed or their direction are accelerating.

Centripetal Force

92800075 — 2014-04-08 16:33:44 UTC

Centripetal force is when an object is being pulled inward. It is why tracks are set at an angle at curves. By setting the track at an angle it can reduce the G-forces experienced.

Centrifugal Force

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Centrifugal force is when an object is being outward. It's what keeps you in your seat when you are upside down in a loop-the-loop or a corkscrew.

Gs

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A g is a unit of acceleration equal to the acceleration caused by gravity. Gravity causes free falling objects to change speed at rates of about 10 m/s squared. An example of this is if someone is experiencing 2.5 g's of acceleration, then they are changing speed at a rate of 25 m/s squared.

Momentum

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An object's momentum is its mass multiplied by its velocity. If its mass or velocity is large, an object will have a large momentum. The more momentum an object has, the harder it is to stop the object or change the object's direction.

Weightlessness

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What a ride can feel during a roller coaster when the force of gravity is balanced with the centrifugal force pull upward.

Friction

92800075 — 2014-04-09 19:05:09 UTC

Friction is what slows down a roller coaster, that is why every successive hill or loop is smaller in a roller coaster that doesn't have any source of power other than the first hill.

Kinetic Energy

92800075 — 2014-04-09 19:09:22 UTC

Kinetic energy is the energy possessed by an object because of its motion. All moving objects have kinetic energy. The faster and heavier the object is, the more kinetic energy it has.

Potencial Energy

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Potential energy is the energy possessed by an object because of its location.

Equation

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Joules

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The measurement of energy is measured in joules

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Kinetic Energy and Potential Energy in Roller Coasters

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At the top of the hill, the cars possess a large quantity of potential energy. The car's large quantity of potential energy is due to the fact that they are elevated to a large height above the ground. As the cars descend the first drop they lose much of this potential energy in accord with their loss of height. The cars subsequently gain kinetic energy. The train of coaster cars speeds up as they lose height. Thus, their original potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy. As the ride continues, the train of cars are continuously losing and gaining height. Each gain in height corresponds to the loss of speed as kinetic energy is transformed into potential energy. Each loss in height corresponds to a gain of speed as potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy.

Example

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History of Roller Coasters

92800075 — 2014-04-14 16:04:58 UTC

The direct ancestors of roller coasters were monumental ice slides, long, steep wooden slides covered in ice, some as high as 70 feet, that were popular in Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Riders shot down the slope in sleds made out of wood or blocks of ice, crash-landing in a sand pile.

Coaster historians diverge on the exact evolution of these ice slides into actual rolling carts. The most widespread account is that a few entrepreneurial Frenchmen imported the ice slide idea to France.vThe warmer climate of France tended to melt the ice, so the French started building waxed slides instead, eventually adding wheels to the sleds. In 1817, the Russes a Belleville(Russian Mountains of Belleville) became the first roller coaster where the train was attached to the track (in this case, the train axle fit into a carved groove). The French continued to expand on this idea, coming up with more complex track layouts, with multiple cars and all sorts of twists and turns.

The first American roller coaster was the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, built in the mountains of Pennsylvania in the mid-1800s. The track, originally built to send coal to a railway, was reconfigured as a "scenic tour." For one dollar, tourists got a leisurely ride up to the top of the mountain followed by a wild, bumpy ride back down. Over the next 30 years, these scenic rides continued to thrive and were joined by wooden roller coasters similar to the ones we know today. These coasters were the main attraction at popular amusement parks throughout the United States, such as Kennywood Park in Pennsylvania and Coney Island in New York. By the 1920s, roller coasters were in full swing, with some 2,000 rides in operation around the country.

With the Great Depression and World War II, roller-coaster production declined, but a second roller-coaster boom in the 1970s and early 1980s revitalized the amusement-park industry. This era introduced a slew of innovative tubular steel coasters. Some of the most popular ride variations, such as the curving corkscrew track, saw their heyday around this time.

Records

92800075 — 2014-04-15 01:15:08 UTC

Most Inversions on a Roller Coaster: The Smiler - 14 Inversions; Built in Alton Towers, England, UK in 2013 by Genstiauer
Tallest Vertical Loop: Full Throttle - 49 Meters Tall; Built in Six Flags Magic Mountain, California, USA in 2013 by Premier Rides
Tallest Roller Coaster Inversion: Gatekeeper - 52 Meters Tall; Built in Cedar Point, Ohio, USA in 2013 by Bolliger & Mabillard
Steepest Roller Coaster: Takabisha - 121° Vertical Angle; Built in Fuji-Q Highland, Yamanashi, Japan in 2011 by Gerstiauer
Longest Roller Coaster: Steel Dragon 2000 - 2,479 Meters Long; Built in Nagashima Spa Land, Kuwana, Japan in 2000 by D.H. Morgan Manu

Tallest Roller Coaster: Kingda Ka - 139 Meters Tall; Built in Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey, USA in 2005 by Intamin
Longest Roller Coaster Drop: Kingda Ka - 127 Meter Drop; Built in Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey, USA in 2005 by Intamin
Fastest Roller Coaster: Formula Rossa - 230 Kilometers Per Hour; Built in Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 2010 by Intamin

Batwing

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Butterfly Inversion

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Camelback

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Cobra Roll

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Corkscrew

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Hammerhead Turn

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Immelmann Loop

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Pretzel Loop

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Sea Serpent Roll

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Top Hat

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Why does a roller coaster move through the track with the help from an engine only in the beginning ?

92800075 — 2014-04-15 05:29:50 UTC

A roller coaster only uses an engine in the beginning to get up the first hill. The two major things that help the cart to get through the track are potential and kinetic energy. The higher the first drop the more potential energy it will have. The first drop is always going to be the highest drop. Once the cart starts to go down the drop the potential energy turns into kinetic energy. The kinetic energy moves the cart through the rest of the track until it gets to a hill or a loop ect, the whole system restarts.

Our "Aaron's Mega Dream" Roller Coaster

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Our marble coaster started with a very steep drop from 81 cm from the floor. This allowed the marble to accelerate and gather momentum. In the middle of its drop we had a 10 cm wide diameter loop. After 56 cm drop and a loop we have the coaster rise up from 25 cm above the ground. The rose up to a bump that was 38 cm above the ground. It then went down to an heartline turn that started at 23 cm above the ground. The diameter of the turn was 19 cm. Then it went over a small hill at 20 cm above the ground, Finally it stopped at ground level.

Length of track is 7.4 meters, Average time was 4.61 seconds. Average speed was 1.60520607375 meters per second.

Coaster stared at 81 cm above ground. Assuming that weight of the marble is 5.4 grams.

PE: 4286.52 Joules

KE: 6.95705365587 Joules

The "Aaron's Mega Dream" Roller Coaster

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The Photos

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