Roller+Coaster+Research

=NMHS Physics Roller Coaster Project=

Student Sample Wiki Michelle Davis New Manchester High School, Douglas County School __**Purpose:**__ We will create a safe and fun roller coaster everyone of all ages will enjoy.

__**Research**__ History: Roller coasters have been around since the 1400s when Russians would use wood and hard-packed snow to build incredibly tall sledding hills. Eventually, sleds became cars with wheels riding down tracks on steep slo pes (early 1800s). The first American roller coasters appeared in the late 1800s as inclined railways that used gravity to carry passengers down slopes that were between buildings. The first real modern roller coaster was built at Coney Island, New York by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1884. Today there are amusement parks filled with thrilling roller coasters all over the US. Many different types of roller coasters exist as the photos on the right indicate. However, they are all designed to give the rider maximum thrills in a safe environment.

Design: The design of roller coasters is a complicated engineering process. Engineers produce many different plans, blueprints, layouts, and scale models in the design process. They must check and re-check the amount of force experienced by the equipment and the riders to make sure the coaster is both safe & fun. Designers often include quick direction changes because this causes passengers to think they are speeding up or accelerating. Quick direction changes increase the force of gravity (g-forces) on rides. Height of the main hill is important because this is what gives the coaster enough energy to complete the track. If the design calls for only gravity as the energy source, then all hills must decrease in size over the course of the track; otherwise, the coaster will not finish the track. Some of the energy is converted to heat (friction) so designers must take this into consideration when considering construction materials. If wheels and track get too hot they may not function as intended and the coaster would then be unsafe. However, some friction is good because this is what eventually stops the coaster.

Safety: Roller coasters that increase g-forces on riders can have health effects. Increased g-forces causes a person's stomach to be pressed flat. This is why so many people vomit during or after the ride. Motion changes also effects the inner ear canlas that are filled with fluid and the rider may experience dizziness or motion sickness. Another health effect is on the rider's joints which may stretch or compress because of mixed messages sent to the brain.

__**Project Planning**__ Some things we will need to know:

Equations for calculations:
 * K ||  W  ||  L  ||
 * * KE=PE
 * Centripetal force will keep cars on the track around curves & through loops
 * Passengers will experience g-forces
 * Acceleration is fun
 * Essential design components of roller coasters || * Acceleration can make people sick
 * How much force is generated through different loops
 * How high do hills have to be
 * How much g-force is considered “fun”
 * Is there a limit to the number of loops & hills we can have
 * How does passenger size/weight effect the design---will some passengers fall out or experience too much g-force || * What makes roller coasters safe
 * What makes roller coasters fun
 * How difficult is it to produce a new coaster ||
 * Type || Equation ||
 * Centripetal Force || Fc= mv^2/r ||
 * Centripetal Acceleration || a= v^2/r ||
 * Momentum || p= mv ||
 * Horizontal Distance || d= v/t ||
 * Vertical Distance || d= 1/2at^2 ||
 * Kinetic Energy || KE= 1/2mv^2 ||
 * Potential Energy || PE= gmh ||
 * Friction || Friction= PE - KE ||