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The physics of roller coasters comprises the mechanics that affect the design and operation of roller coasters, a machine that uses gravity and inertia to send a train of cars along a winding track. Gravity, inertia, g-forces , and centripetal acceleration give riders constantly changing forces which create certain sensations as the coaster ...
Some older wooden roller coasters utilize steel wheels throughout the assembly. The benefits of the polyurethane or nylon/polyurethane blend are low rolling resistance, high load endurance, smooth ride, and high durability. [2] Some manufacturers' coasters have a larger gap between the up-stop and/or side friction wheels and the track.
A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from the peak by gravity and is usually allowed to coast throughout the rest of the roller coaster ride's ...
A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track that utilizes some form of brakes to slow or stop a roller coaster train.The most common type is the friction brake, often called a fin brake, which involves a series of hydraulic-powered clamps that close and squeeze metal fins that are attached to the underside of a coaster train.
Unlike the other two fictitious forces, the centrifugal force always points radially outward from the axis of rotation of the rotating frame, with magnitude , where is the component of the position vector perpendicular to , and unlike the Coriolis force in particular, it is independent of the motion of the particle in the rotating frame.
Depending on the type of coaster, these brakes may be used in every run of the coaster (this is normally found on a Shuttle roller coaster where the launch track also serves as the main brake run) or they may only come into play when a rollback occurs, normally on a complete-circuit coaster such as Red Force, Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka ...
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The cars of a roller coaster reach their maximum kinetic energy when at the bottom of the path. When they start rising, the kinetic energy begins to be converted to gravitational potential energy . The sum of kinetic and potential energy in the system remains constant, ignoring losses to friction .