Roller Coaster Physics
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Minimum Kinetic Energy
Maximum Kinetic Energy
The bottom of the first hill should have the greatest kinetic energy.
As the roller coaster train begins its descent from the lift hill, its
velocity increases. This causes the train to gain kinetic energy, which is
the energy of motion. The faster the train moves, the more kinetic
energy the train gains. This is shown by the equation for kinetic energy:
K = 1/2mv2
Where K is kinetic energy, m is mass in kilograms, and v is velocity in
meters per second
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Maximum Velocity
Minimum Velocity
Velocity is speed with direction. The faster you go the greater in a given
direction the velocity.
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Maximum Potential Energy
Minimum Potential Energy
PE = mgh
The highest point of a roller coaster has the highest potential energy.
Where PE is potential energy, m is mass in kilograms, g is acceleration
due to gravity, and h is the distance above the ground in meters.
Because mass and gravity are constant for the train, if the height of the
train above the ground is increased, the potential energy must also
increase. This means that the potential energy for the roller coaster
system is greatest at the highest point on the track: the top of the lift
hill.
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Maximum “g” Force or Maximum Compression in Seat
Minimum “g” Force or Maximum Air Time (Flying out of your seat)
A force of 1 G is the usual force of the Earth’s gravitational pull that a
person feels when they are at rest on the Earth’s surface; in other
words, it can be described as a person’s normal weight.
When a person feels weightless, as in free fall or in space, they are
experiencing 0 G’s. When the roller coaster train is going down a hill, the
passengers usually undergo somewhere between 0 and 1 G. However, if
the top of the hill is curved more narrowly than a parabola, the
passengers will experience negative G’s as they rise above the seat
and get pushed down by the lap bar. This is because gravity and the
passengers’ inertia would have them fall in a parabolic arc. G-forces
greater than 1 can be felt at the bottom of hills as the train
changes direction. In this case the train is pushing up on the passengers
with more than the force of gravity because it is changing their direction
of movement from down to up.