How a Roller Coaster Works

How a Roller Coaster Works

Who doesn’t love the heart-pounding, fast-paced of a roller coaster ride? Did you know that the thrill of the ride is all based on the study of physics? Physics is defined as “the natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force”. Read on to learn how physics is responsible for how a roller coaster works.

Up and up you climb to the top of the first hill of the roller coaster. Have you ever noticed this hill is always the tallest hill? The first hill has the largest amount of gravitational potential energy. What is this? It is the amount of work an object will be able to do with the energy it builds up from not falling. The energy the roller coaster builds from falling down the first hill will be enough energy to take you all the way to the end of the ride!

Once the roller coaster has made it to the top of the first hill, gravity takes over! As the roller coaster accelerates down the hill, the gravitational potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the motion energy. In simple terms, stored energy is changed to moving energy. Therefore, when the roller coaster is at the bottom of the first hill, the kinetic energy is at its biggest. Due to this, the roller coaster is always moving faster at the bottom of hills. So if you’ve ridden a roller coaster, you should remember that the roller coaster is always moving the slowest at the top of its highest hill.

When the roller coaster is whipping around the loops and climbing smaller hills, its energy is being lost to other forces. One force is friction. The friction of the wheels on the track converts some kinetic energy to heat energy. This heat energy does not serve any purpose for moving the roller coaster. Friction is the reason roller coasters cannot go on forever! Friction is also the reason that roller coasters can never regain their maximum height after that first tall hill. (However, newer roller coasters have a second chain to lift the roller coaster somewhere along the track.)Friction also takes place where the roller coaster has contact with air. This is called air resistance. This creates a “drag”. Simply put, this “drag” created by air resistance will also slow the roller coaster down.

So you’re probably wondering why you feel certain sensations throughout your ride. When you feel yourself being thrown to one side of your seat while taking a curve, you’re experiencing inertia. Your body wants to continue moving in a certain direction but the rollercoaster accelerated (changed direction or speed). At the top of a hill you may feel weightlessness. The weightlessness is due to the negative g-forces acting on your body. This is also caused by the change of direction of the roller coaster. It makes you feel as if a force is pulling up out of your seat. At the bottom of hills, you go from moving downward to flat to moving upward. This makes you feel as if a force is pushing you down into your seats. At this point in the ride you’re experiencing positive g-forces. Positive g-forces make you feel heavy!

For those of you who love the loops, the loops are not a perfect circle. They have a teardrop shaped called a clothoid. In 1901 circular loops were stopped because of too many injuries. The clothoid provides a smoother, safer ride.

Whether you like your roller coaster with loops or not, all roller coasters work because of physics! From the first biggest hill and all throughout the ride, the rollercoaster’s kinetic energy is lost to friction. By the time the roller coaster gets to the end of the ride it has lost enough energy to come to a stop (usually with a little help from the brakes or electromagnets).