Topic > The Physics Concepts Involved in the Design and Operation of Roller Coasters

Roller coasters are a staple of amusement parks around the world. They consist of a wagon where people are ferried along a track, going up and down the selected route. Modern roller coasters have been made more exciting for riders by including curves along the tracks and even loops where riders hang upside down. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Roller coasters have come a long way since the first commercial roller coasters were built. The first roller coaster, The Switchback Railway, which debuted at Coney Island on June 13, 1884, had a top speed of 6 miles per hour. This is in stark contrast to modern roller coasters, the fastest of which is the Formula Rossa in Abu Dhabi which reaches a top speed of 149.1 miles per hour. Roller coasters work on simple physics concepts, and their operation and design depend on the laws of physics. This essay aims to show and explain the physics involved in the design and operation of roller coasters. The data used in this essay is primarily secondary data obtained from a variety of online sources. The roller coaster ride consists of several parts: (a) The climb – the carriage carrying passengers climbs a high hill until it reaches its starting position. In some types of roller coasters, passengers board the cart at this point after climbing a flight of stairs. (b) The Descent – ​​the trolley rapidly descends a slope carrying passengers who are currently experiencing a ride. (c) Smaller Hills and Curves: The trolley speeds along the track maneuvering sharp and gentle curves to give passengers an exhilarating sensation. (d) The ride: the trolley makes a vertical ride where, at the top, the passengers are upside down. The laws of physics are always applied to the operation of roller coasters. First of all, the laws of physics are needed to lift the cart along the track to its initial position. The roller coaster is brought up the hill by an electric winch which wraps the cars up to the top of the first hill. Designers need to choose a suitable rope that can provide sufficient tension needed to lift cars. However, the energy supplied to the cars is not wasted. The energy supplied to the cars by the electric winch is stored in the cars as gravitational potential energy. The higher the winch that wraps around the cars, the greater the gravitational potential energy of the cars (Chris Woodford, 2017). Roller coaster designers can then easily determine how much energy the roller coaster would have for the entire ride using the equation: ΔUg = mgΔh where ∆Ug is the change in gravitational potential energy, m is the mass of the cart and people, g is the attraction of the gravitational field and ∆h is the change in height of the cart and the people. Once the passengers have boarded, the cars can get off. As the roller coaster descends, gravitational potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy due to the motion of the roller coaster. Here the roller coaster applies the law of conservation of energy which states; in a closed system, the total energy of the system is conserved (Mark E. Tuckerman, 2011). The lower the cars are, the more the potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy and therefore the greater the speed since K = ½mv2. This then increases the speed of the cars and therefore increases the momentum of the cars since p = mv where p is the momentum of the system, m is the mass of the people and cars and v is the speed.