Roller Coaster Research Paper

Throughout many years, roller coasters have been main attraction for events and places like amusement parks and county fairs. Famous roller coaster are part of iconic landmarks such as Coney Island, Disneyworld, and many other major tourism attractions throughout the world. As millions of people ride these high-speed thrill rides, they are probably not thinking about how the coaster is going so fast, or how they did not just fall out of their seat at that last loop? The most basic concept that can be used to explain the science behind roller coasters in the law of conservation of energy (Energy). The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. The constant switching of potential energy and kinetic energy

The transferring between kinetic and potential energy happens throughout the ride, but, there is some energy that is not transferred back and forth between the two energies. And this would be because of friction (Energy). Friction is the force that acts against moving objects and causes them to slow down, or in this case, lose some of its kinetic energy. Friction also causes the ride to have thermal energy that has no effect on the roller coaster besides heating up some of the track (Physics). That fact is why many roller coasters have their tallest hill at the beginning, also, at the top of these hills, it is possible for riders of the coaster to experience weightlessness and feeling heavier at the bottoms of the coaster (Physics). The height on the top hill is so the roller coaster will not be affected to much by the force of friction, and will have enough energy to complete the course (Energy). Friction also plays a part into why the hills at the end of the ride get progressively smaller and smaller until the end

Well, this is because at the very top of the loop, the acceleration is so high, it actually counters gravity and keeps the people in their seats (Why). To get through these loops the ride needs a certain speed known as the critical velocity, whose equation is v = (rg)^1/2 (Physics). That is how engineers in the modern day can test to see if a roller coaster will be able to complete its track. You will see most of you loops on the modern-day roller coasters as the older versions of the classic ride would not have the technology to handle complex loops and people going upside