Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
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 ...
Roller coaster. The Scenic Railway at Luna Park, Melbourne, is the world's second-oldest operating roller coaster, built in 1912. A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements usually designed to produce a ...
Roller coaster amusement rides have origins back to ice slides constructed in 18th-century Russia. Early technology featured sleds or wheeled carts that were sent down hills of snow reinforced by wooden supports. The technology evolved in the 19th century to feature railroad track using wheeled cars that were securely locked to the track.
The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster. A launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or a series of linear induction motors (LIM), linear synchronous motors (LSM), catapults, tires, chains, or other mechanisms employing hydraulic or pneumatic power, along a launch track.
Brake run. 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. There are various types of braking methods employed on roller coasters, including friction brakes, skid brakes, and magnetic brakes. The most common is a fin brake, an alternative name for a friction brake ...
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. Some manufacturers' coasters have a larger gap between the up-stop and/or side friction wheels and the track.
For other uses, see Loop-the-Loop (disambiguation). The generic roller coaster vertical loop, also known as a Loop-the-loop, or a Loop-de-loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, riders are completely inverted.
A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane -coated wheels, the steel roller coasters can provide a taller, smoother, and faster ride with more inversions ...