Transcript How Roller Coasters Work Components

*
By: Tara Pierfy
* Catapult-Launch Lift
* Chain Lift
* Breaks
*
*
* A lifting device with chains under the track.
The chain is wound around a gear at the top of
the hill and another one at the bottom of the
hill which is turned by a motor.
* This turns the chain so that it moves up the
hill. The coaster cars grip onto the chain with
several hooks. When the cart rolls to the
bottom of the hill, it catches onto the chain
links. Once it is hooked, the chain simply pulls
the cart to the top of the hill.
*
* Sets the cart in motion
* Instead of building up potential energy they
quickly create a large amount of kinetic energy
* Most Popular Systems:
1.Linear Induction Motor – Uses electromagnets
2. Rotating Wheels Method – Uses dozens of
rotating wheels to set cart in motion
*
* Not on the roller coaster….on the track
* A series of clamps is positioned at the end of
the ride.
* A computer closes these clamps when the cart
needs to stop. The clamps close in on metal
fins under the cart, and this friction gradually
slows the cart down.
*
* Goal of roller coasters: Potential Energy
* Potential Energy converted to Kinetic Energy
* Top of hill – Maximum Potential Energy
* Bottom hill – Maximum Kinetic Energy
*
* Control which way the coaster goes
* If the track points down, gravity pushes the
front of the cart down and it accelerates
* If the track points up, gravity pushes down on
the back of the cart so it decelerates
*
* An object in motions will stay in motion
* So…the coaster will maintain forward velocity
when going up the hill
* When the coaster goes down a hill that follows
the initial lift hill, its kinetic energy changes
back to potential energy. In this way, the
course of the track is constantly converting
energy from kinetic to potential and back
again.
*
* What causes the sensations you feel on a roller
coaster?
* On Earth, gravity pulls you down. But the force you
actually notice is the upward pressure of the ground
beneath you. It pushes up on your feet and
throughout your whole body. At every point on a
roller-coaster ride, gravity is pulling you straight
down.
* Also, there’s acceleration.
* When the coaster speeds up or slows down, you feel
pressed against the bar.
* Feel this because inertia on body is different from
coaster
*
* This project gave me a concrete example of
potential vs. kinetic energy and acceleration
vs. deceleration.
* I now understand how Newton’s laws are used
in my everyday life.
* And of course, I know how roller coasters work
now so that when I go to an Amusement Park
this summer I can be the nerd among my
friends.
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* “HowStuffWorks ‘How Roller Coasters Work’.”
HowStuffWorks, n.d.
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineeri
ng/structural/roller-coaster.htm.>