Roller Coaster Research Paper

The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. Most roller coasters consist of some basic parts: a chain lift, a catapult launch-lift (in newer coasters), and some type of brake mechanism. The first roller coaster originated in the early 80’s in Russia, it was built under the orders of a Russian empress named Catherine the Great in the Garden of Oranienbaum a Russian royal residence located in Saint Petersburg.

Roller coasters work by using gravity to move along the track, most think they have an engine inside that pushes them along the track like an automobile. The first part of a roller coaster is always a big hill; the biggest hill is always the highest point. The purpose of this
First is the chain lift; a type of lift hill found on roller coasters. It is the most common method of lift hill, and has been used for hundreds of years. A chain lift is propelled by one or two motors under the lift hill. As the motor turns, it moves the chain. When the train enters the lift hill the chain dog attaches itself, and it propels the car forward. Second is the catapult launch-lift; a relatively new part that sets cart in motion, instead of building up potential energy it quickly creates a large amount of kinetic energy. The most popular systems are either a Linear Induction Motor which use electromagnets or the Rotating Wheels method which use thousands of spinning wheels to propel the cart. Last are the brakes; a series of clamps are positioned on the track at the end of the ride, these clamps close in on metal fins under the ride that gradually use friction to slow the ride
Friction exists in all roller coasters, and it takes away from the useful energy provided by the roller coaster. Friction is caused in roller coasters by the rubbing of car wheels on the track and by the rubbing of air against the carts. Friction turns all the energy being exerted from the roller coaster into heat energy. This serves no purpose in propelling cars along the track. Friction is the reason coasters can’t go on forever. So minimizing friction is one of the biggest challenges for roller coaster engineers. On the other end, if there were no friction the cart would never be able to stop, eliminating all brake mechanism’s that use any type of friction. So basically roller coaster engineers have two choices, let the coaster go on forever without a brake mechanism or deal with friction as best they can without reducing safety