Roller Coaster Vs Roller Coaster

Roller coasters have many designs that make them distinct in their own ways. The two main materials roller coasters are made of are wood and steel coasters. According to the “Amusement Park Physics” website, “In general, wooden coasters are non looping. They're also not as tall and not as fast, and they don't feature very steep hills or as long a track as steel ones do Wooden coasters do offer one advantage over steel coasters… they sway a lot more.” Figure One shown below is a picture of a wooden coaster. While on the other hand, “Tubular steel coasters allow more looping, higher and steeper hills, greater drops and rolls, and faster speeds” (“Amusement Park Physics”). Most roller coasters are steel coasters because they are typically more

A stand up coaster is a steel coaster you stand up in and most stand up rides have bicycle like seats between you and the shoulder harness to keep you from falling out. A steel flying coaster allows riders to feel like they have taken flight on an out of control plane ride in the middle of a roller coaster park. At the station, the train sits at 90 degrees with the track to allow riders to get on. After that the train is propped up parallel with the track so they are looking straight down at the floor. (“Types of Roller Coasters”). Finally, the Inverted roller coaster’s track runs above the train and the seats are connected to the wheel carriage. Now that the eight main coasters have been described, the the process of the roller coaster’s start needs to be added into the

The traditional way for a roller coaster to get up the initial hill is using the chain lift. The chain lift is used like this, “The traditional lifting mechanism is a long length of chain (or chains) running up the hill under the track… The coaster cars grip onto the chain with several chain dogs, sturdy hinged hooks… Once the chain dog is hooked, the chain simply pulls the train to the top of the hill.” In other words, the chain dog is what connects the train to the tracks and that allows the motor to pull the train up to the summit of the hill. Another starting mechanism for roller coasters is the Catapult Launch lift. To further explain, “In some newer coaster designs, a catapult launch sets the train in motion… Instead of dragging the train up a hill to build up potential energy, these systems start the train off by building up a good amount of kinetic energy in a short amount of time” (Harris, 2). Simply put, the difference between the Chain lift and the Catapult Launch lift is that the Catapult launch lift is set into a fast motion very quickly allowing it to reach the top of the hill. Once the coaster reaches the top of the hill and begins to go down the first hill, the coaster moves on its own without a motor. In more depth, “You aren't being propelled around the track by a motor or pulled by a hitch. The conversion of potential