Rollercoaster essays

Rollercoaster essays The purpose of the hill at the beginning of the ride is to build up a reservoir of energy. Potential energy or the energy of height as it is known because since the ground has zero potential energy then anything above the ground has a greater than zero potential energy, and the potential energy increases with increasing height. As the ball gets higher in the air there is a greater distance through which the gravity can pull the ball down. The potential energy you build going up the hill can be released as kinetic energy which is the energy of motion and the effect of this is that it puts the ball in motion. Roller coaster loops are much like a teardrop in shape, which is geometrically referred to as a clothoid loop. A clothoid is where the radius is constantly changing, not like a circle where the radius is constant. The radius at the bottom of the clothoid loop is much larger than the radius at the top. When a roller coaster is travelling through a clothoid loop they experience acceleration from a change in speed as well as a change in direction. In a circle the rider moves to the right, upside down and then to the left. There is always change in direction which is one characteristic that causes an object to accelerate. From energy transformations an increase in height (and therefore a increase in potential energy) results in an increase in kinetic energy and the converse is also true. The effect of this is that the rider experiences the greater speeds at the bottom and the lowest speeds at the top, a change in velocity is also a characteristic of acceleration. This concept of acceleration as a rider moves through the loop is described as a result of centripetal force. The acceleration of the rider has two components. The one that is directed towards the centre of the circle (centripetal force) and is the cause of the direction change, which affects the ball to move in a circle. The other is directed t ...