The teardrop design makes it much easier to balance these forces. the only forces exerted upon the riders are the force of gravity and the normal force The force of gravity is at all times directed downwards and the normal force is at all times directed perpendicular to the seat of the car. Since the orientation of the car on the track is continuously changing, the normal force is continuously changing its direction.
Feelings of weightlessness and heaviness are associated with the normal force; they have little to do with the force of gravity. The normal force however has a small magnitude at the top of the loop (where the rider often feels weightless) and a large magnitude at the bottom of the loop (where the rider often feels heavy).
PHYSICS: PHYSICS BEHIND ROLLER COASTER LOOP
HOW ROLLER COASTER LOOPS WORK
When a roller coaster starts, there is most likely the first hill that is the biggest out of all the others. The reason for this is because at the top of the first hill, there is the maximum potential energy. As soon as the car starts moving down the hill, that potential energy turns into kinetic energy …show more content…
The radius at the bottom of a clothoid loop is much larger than the radius at the top of the clothoid loop. The roller coaster experiences acceleration as it travels through a clothoid loop due to the change in direction. As the roller coaster goes up into the loop, the velocity decreases and as it goes down, it increases. A roller coaster loop was originally circular where the rider experiences the greatest force at the bottom but there were many problems that they encountered. There was excessive normal forces that caused whiplash and broken bones but if the velocity was decreased, the cars were unable to make it around the entire loop without falling out. The ultimate solution ended up being the clothoid
Feelings of weightlessness and heaviness are associated with the normal force; they have little to do with the force of gravity. The normal force however has a small magnitude at the top of the loop (where the rider often feels weightless) and a large magnitude at the bottom of the loop (where the rider often feels heavy).
PHYSICS: PHYSICS BEHIND ROLLER COASTER LOOP
HOW ROLLER COASTER LOOPS WORK
When a roller coaster starts, there is most likely the first hill that is the biggest out of all the others. The reason for this is because at the top of the first hill, there is the maximum potential energy. As soon as the car starts moving down the hill, that potential energy turns into kinetic energy …show more content…
The radius at the bottom of a clothoid loop is much larger than the radius at the top of the clothoid loop. The roller coaster experiences acceleration as it travels through a clothoid loop due to the change in direction. As the roller coaster goes up into the loop, the velocity decreases and as it goes down, it increases. A roller coaster loop was originally circular where the rider experiences the greatest force at the bottom but there were many problems that they encountered. There was excessive normal forces that caused whiplash and broken bones but if the velocity was decreased, the cars were unable to make it around the entire loop without falling out. The ultimate solution ended up being the clothoid