WEBVTT - How Roller Coasters Work 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:02.880 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:09.000 It's ready. Are you get in touch with technologies with 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:17.959 tech stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello again, everyone, 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:20.360 Welcome to tech stuff. My name is Chris Poulette, and 0:00:20.360 --> 0:00:22.440 I am the tech editor here at how stuff works 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:25.599 dot com. Sitting across from me, as he usually does, 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:29.000 is senior writer Jonathan Strickland. Hey there, and hey, Chris, 0:00:29.400 --> 0:00:32.000 let me ask me something. What do you think when 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:39.800 you hear this? I think I probably shouldn't have eaten 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:43.000 lunch right before this podcast. I'm not feeling so well. Yeah, 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:47.560 and everyone else thought, there's probably thinking roly coasters. Uh, 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:49.680 So we decided we wanted to talk about how roller 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:53.040 coasters work. Um now, now, Chris, uh, are you a 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:59.440 roller coaster fan? Yeah? Is that a lie? No, it's 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:03.200 not a lot checking But but I'm not an extreme 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:05.160 roller coaster fan. I'm not the kind of person that 0:01:05.280 --> 0:01:08.479 travels across country or sometimes around the world to find 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:12.080 the biggest and fastest and most terrifying roller coaster. I'm 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:15.000 I'm generally quite happy with the stuff down at the 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:18.160 local amusement park, and honestly, I'm a fan of the 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:23.160 wooden roller coaster. Yeah, those are. If they're well maintained, 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.560 they're great, and if they're not, they will beat you up. 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:30.520 I d like it when they beat you up there. Yeah, gosh, Okay, 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:33.000 Well I've got a coaster for you to ride. Um. 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.560 I am also a fan of roller coasters. I would 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:38.679 not call myself a die hard fan because I have 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.119 Also I've only taken trips to like Cedar Point. I'm 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:44.400 just gonna say, but that's a good place to go. Yeah, 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:48.040 it's across the country from where we are. I haven't 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:50.840 I haven't specifically gone to things like King's Island or 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:53.720 anything like that to ride all of the roller coasters 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:55.600 out there. But I do love roller coasters, and I 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:59.720 love the really super mega coasters too, the really really 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:04.000 tall ones love them. So we thought we'd talked a 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:08.600 little bit about what makes roller coasters work. Yes, and uh, 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:10.359 maybe we should give a little history of the roller 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:13.680 coaster first. And this is uh, if you've already seen 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:17.960 the the episode that High Speed Stuff did. Uh, they 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:20.160 took a little bit different tech on the roller coaster 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:23.000 than we're going to I think. Yeah, they talked most 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:26.200 They talked mostly about the tallest and the fastest and 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:29.079 that kind of thing. Yeah, definitely good check out. Yeah, 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:33.959 we're gonna talk more about the actual mechanics behind roller coasters, so, uh, 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.679 you know, if you want to know about the fastest 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:39.400 and tallest ones, definitely check out the High Speed Stuff episode. 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:43.880 It's archived, so the history of roller coasters. So we're 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:45.959 gonna go to France for this. Yeah. Actually, if you 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:49.320 want to go even further back, the genesis of the 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:51.920 whole idea of the roller coaster just comes from the 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:54.680 fact that human beings we as a whole, are insane, 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:58.840 and occasionally we like to throw ourselves down inclines and 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:01.239 see how fast we can go before we come to 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:04.840 a stop, whether that's sudden or hopefully a nice, gradual, 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:07.799 gentle stop. Yeah. You know, I was thinking that very 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:10.800 thing when I was watching the ski jumpers at the Olympics. Yeah, 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:15.119 not too long ago. What made somebody decide to you know, hey, 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:17.120 I wonder how far I can go? Right, this is 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:19.840 a really tall, tall mountain. I want to strap some 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:23.440 wood to my feet, slide down at a blistering speed 0:03:23.480 --> 0:03:26.440 and then jump off something. Yeah, that would, I would say, 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:29.840 be the same sort of the the thrill seeking part 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:35.680 within US that generated roller coasters France that kind of 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:39.840 took an idea that had already seen some uh some 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:44.440 success in Russia, which was essentially a series of slides 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:46.720 that would go down mountains that were you know, those 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:49.000 slides were covered in snow or ice and people would 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:53.080 slide down them. Um. So that's the you know, the 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:56.240 roller coasters based off of just a slide. Now, the 0:03:56.360 --> 0:03:58.760 roller coaster in France that you're thinking about, I believe 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:01.320 is a that was the first one that was a 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:06.240 documented case of a cart on a track. Yes, and 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:10.240 that was which was an attempt to uh to actually 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:13.720 take the Russians idea and make it something that you 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:17.040 could do all the time because Russians, as it turns out, 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:20.480 in in France, snow is not always on the ground. 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:22.839 So if you don't have snow, you don't have something 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:25.560 to uh to make that trip down the hill at 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.400 least a little pleasant. Then you have to build tracks 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:31.200 and have a cart with wheels on that track so 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:35.839 it goes down the predefined Um tut well, I was 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:37.560 going to use a word other than the track, but 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:43.120 on that track. And the first American coaster was a 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:47.640 it was a converted coal train. Yes, it was not 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:52.039 the saxophone player. No, no. So this this coal train 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:57.120 would go up a really nice picturesque mountain in Pennsylvania 0:04:57.640 --> 0:04:59.880 and then um, once it got to the top, while 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:02.599 it was only one way to go back, and that 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:04.120 was back the way you came. So they would just 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:08.640 essentially kind of a roll backwards, screaming all the way 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:12.040 down as people held on for dear life. And I'm 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:15.120 sure it was very bumpy and chaotic ride. And I 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:20.840 would go on at five times so that I'm sure, however, 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:23.159 that it had not been inspected every day like modern 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:27.560 day roller coasters. Yeah, I definitely would have. I would 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:29.880 have been taking my life into my own hands, especially 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:35.240 after ride number one. Uh So this leads us to 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:38.320 the Wooden roller coaster, which is kind of the basis 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:42.440 of all coasters that followed. And the Wooden coaster is 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.200 a is a thing of beauty. I'd say, you know, 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:49.719 the famous one in Atlanta is the Great American Screen Machine. Yes, yes, 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:54.040 my my favorite would be uh thunder Road at Paramounts 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:55.880 Caro Wins near Charlotte, which is where I grew up. 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:58.960 I have not written that one, so let's bumps and 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.760 and and jolts on that one, right, Yeah, well then 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:04.039 the wooden ones, dude, tend to build that up. So 0:06:04.839 --> 0:06:09.839 it's based on the principle of gravity pull stuff down. Yeah. 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:12.200 Well there's some other stuff in there too. Yeah, but 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:16.080 basically gravity is one inertia shore cy triptal force if 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:18.760 you want to get technical. But blah blah blah blah. 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:24.880 So the basis of our roller coaster is that some 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:27.120 sort of mechanism pulls you up to the top of 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:31.000 a very tall hill and then the and you must 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:33.400 raise your hands in the air as this is happening, apparently, 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.040 I mean you have to do it, all right, We're 0:06:36.080 --> 0:06:37.719 gonna get mailed about that, and you get the answer 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:40.279 it so aren't you supposed to raise your hand? And 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:42.719 I always wondered that, Okay, it's gonna take a good 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:44.280 seven minutes to get to the top of this hill. 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:47.560 Why is everybody raising their hands? Now, well, it's people 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:50.440 who are nervous. I assume at any rate, the once 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:51.880 you get to the top of the hill and you 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:54.640 start going down, then gravity pretty much does the rest 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:57.640 of the work for you, and you are pulled along 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:00.680 the track. You might depending on the older coaster have 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:04.240 a second hill that will there will be some sort 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:07.159 of mechanism to pull you up the second hills that 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:09.400 you've finished the rest of the trip, or if the 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:11.600 first hill is tall enough, that might be it. That 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:15.160 might be the enough to generate the h the the 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:19.960 energy you need to complete the entire ride. Now, in 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:22.720 the case of most wooden roller coasters, this energy is 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:26.960 generated through a chain lift, which it's just the sound 0:07:27.000 --> 0:07:30.760 of the that's part of it. Yeah, that's part of it. 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:33.240 There's there's actually a second element that also can make 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:36.520 that ratcheting noise. But uh, the way a chain lift 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:39.840 works is that along the first hill there is a 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:44.160 length of chain that's and sort of a conveyor belt configuration, 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:48.200 and it's being turned by a very large engine and 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:52.120 and some wheels. So the underneath the coaster train itself 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:56.480 are a series of hinged hooks and uh, the the 0:07:56.600 --> 0:08:01.600 term for this is chain dogs. So the chain dogs 0:08:01.720 --> 0:08:04.720 hook into the chain the loop of chain. The chain 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:07.040 as it turns or as it is propelled up the 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:10.000 hill through the turning gear, pulls the coaster up to 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.400 the top. And as the coaster gets toward the top, 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:16.520 the hinged hooks unhooked from the chain, and uh, the 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.360 coaster is pushed over the very top of the hill 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:23.320 and it goes down and then gravity does the rest. Right. 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:27.200 So it's a very simple mechanism really when you look 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:28.840 at it, I mean, there's there's not a whole lot 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:32.080 to it beyond that. Um, as far as getting the 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:35.319 train started, now, stopping the train is a different matter. 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:40.319 Well not entirely in a way, because you're moving basically. 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:42.319 For those of you who have taken physics yet, I 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:44.360 know some of you probably haven't yet because we have 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:47.840 some younger listeners. Um, going up the hill, you've got 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.480 lots and lots of potential energy, energy that's being built 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:55.680 up or or just waiting to be released, I should say. 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:57.719 And as soon as you get to the top of 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:00.280 the hill and it the train starts to go over 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:02.920 the hill, it's it changes into kinetic energy, which is 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:06.840 you know, who look out, we're moving, but very good stopping. 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.360 I think that's actually in most textbooks, who look out 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:12.040 we're moving? It Well, it wasn't mine, although I have 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:15.800 to admit it was written in blue ink next to 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:18.520 the text, so maybe it wasn't put there by the publisher. 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:22.880 But that said, getting to the to the end of 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:26.600 the line. Um, you know, by by putting hills in 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:29.040 strategic places, you can use those to slow the train 0:09:29.080 --> 0:09:32.559 down by converting that kinetic energy back into potential energy, 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:35.560 right and through things like friction, that's always going to 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:37.840 take away some of your energy. You lose energy in 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:40.800 the form of heat, so the coaster will generate he 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.440 does it's moving around, and that that also means that 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:46.800 you have a net loss of of energy. So your 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:49.560 your coaster is going to slow down over the course 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:53.000 of the track, unless, of course, you were to somehow 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:57.319 maneuver it so that it hit a infinite hill going downward. 0:09:57.800 --> 0:09:59.679 But um, no one's figured out how to do that yet, 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:01.920 or else I would have written it already. Actually you'd 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:04.200 still be on it. Yes, technically I would still be 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:08.360 writing it. I'm calling you from the infinite roller coaster 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:12.400 and so anyway, um, so yeah, you've got Now. Now 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:15.559 here's a couple of things for us to talk about. 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:18.120 The breaking system. I mean, there is usually a breaking 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:19.760 system at the end of the track, because other ways 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:21.280 you just have to wait for its a coast to 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:24.160 an end. Um. But I imagine that would be far 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:26.680 less effective if you didn't use other methods to slow 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:29.480 the train down enough to let the breaking system. Sure, 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:32.120 but you know most coasters have been on there's a 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:36.880 there's a very audible and physical breaking moment where you 0:10:37.160 --> 0:10:40.240 you're actually thrown forward a little bit from the coaster 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:43.000 coming to a stop. Is that that explains the permanent 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:46.640 indentation I have across my forehead from from the seat 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:50.120 in front of you. Um. So, the the coaster has 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:56.080 these fins that go down below the the coaster to swim. 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:00.000 The fins are used as part of the breaking mechanism. Now, 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:01.480 there are a couple of different ways you can use 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:04.280 the breaking mechanism. You could have one that just uses 0:11:04.280 --> 0:11:08.080 physical friction. So the the brakes are all built into 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:12.800 the track, not into the train. So the right Yeah, 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:16.160 so the track has this this breaking section along part 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:20.000 of it. As the train passes through the brakes, UH 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:23.320 initiate and then close in on the fins and then 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:27.679 slow or and slow the train and then stop it. Um. 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:30.240 But it doesn't have to necessarily just be physical like that. 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:33.600 You can also use magnets. You could have a you 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:37.000 can have fins on the coaster that have a metal 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:39.640 that reacts to magnets, and then you use very powerful 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:43.480 magnets which will gradually slow and and then stop the 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:46.680 train from moving, sort of the the opposite of a 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:51.079 magleev train, Not literally an opposite, but the magnets to stop. 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:55.480 There are coasters actually use magnets to to push a train, 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:58.000 but there there aren't a whole lot of coasters like that, 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:01.000 but we'll talk about those in a second. So, um, 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:03.880 the other thing you have to remember is that there are, uh, 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:08.600 there are other wheels on the coaster itself that helped 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.840 prevent it from flying off the track. Yes, so you 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:14.040 usually have a set of wheels. First of all, there's 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:17.040 the set that's on the track itself. There's usually a 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:19.360 set that's on either side of the track to keep 0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:22.080 it from slinging off to the left or right, and 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:24.920 then there's a set underneath the track to keep it 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:28.880 from flying off when you go uphills. That would be 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:32.160 sort of a buzz kill. Yeah, there's nothing quite like 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:35.200 having your coaster corene off the roller coaster track to 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:37.600 really ruin your time at the fair. Yes, that would 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:39.560 that would need to do that. As a friend of 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:43.400 mine once said, I will ruin your whole day. So 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:46.960 that's the traditional coaster chain lift. That's what you see 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:50.160 on wooden coasters most of the time. And wooden coasters 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:54.800 have a lot of limitations because they need, you know, 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.360 you need to build that that really strong support to 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:00.680 keep the coaster stable. That's where you see all that 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:03.680 lattice work, where all the cross beams that are supporting 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:07.240 each other, which is why most wooden coasters don't have 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.640 things like inversions and version of course, will be any 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:13.160 time where the coaster is turned upside down. Um, you 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:16.040 don't see many of those in wooden coasters. I've heard 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:17.560 there have been a couple that have done it, but 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.320 it's it's not easy to do just from the the 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:22.760 standpoint of you have to be able to support the 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:28.839 track also, of course, would is something that ages with 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:31.560 the the environment. You've got a lot of you know, 0:13:31.640 --> 0:13:35.200 heating and cooling, expands and contracts the wood plus you know, 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:39.000 rain and other things termites. I mean, these are things 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:41.439 that you have to be wary of because when you're 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:43.959 building the infrastructure for a roller coaster, obviously you want 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:46.400 to keep it safe, so you're uh, you know, no 0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:50.160 one gets hurt, so it requires quite a bit of maintenance. Yeah, 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:53.480 that's that's why most coasters, wooden coasters take a formation 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:56.120 of what I always heard as an out and back. 0:13:56.920 --> 0:13:59.520 It goes out through the park and then comes back 0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:03.160 to where started. Um, there aren't. It's the thrills of 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:05.120 the ride are all based upon the hills. You know, 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:07.360 how high you go up on that first hill, how 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:09.520 fast you're going when you hit the bottom. Yeah, the 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:11.920 angle of the drop so that it you know, makes 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:14.960 your stomach feel like it's dropping out right, right, So 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:17.679 those would be where all the thrills are come from 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:23.280 from those, But then came tubular steel coasters. Now these 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:25.640 are the monsters that let you do things like inversions, 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:31.760 cork screws, em molment's, uh loops, that kind of stuff. 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:36.480 And uh, these are the coasters I love. Yeah. Well, uh, 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:40.960 the steel being you know, certainly more weather resistant um 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:43.880 than the wood, and uh, of course it can be 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:47.160 made into all kinds of shapes, um, so you can 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:49.320 you can do all kinds of things. And it also 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:52.480 allows you to do in addition to uh, you know, 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:55.560 things simple the bends and things, you can also do 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:58.920 different kinds of you make different kinds of cars, like 0:14:59.000 --> 0:15:01.920 the stand up and sit uh. You know, the inverted 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:05.840 and suspended cars right where the track is above you. Yeah. Yeah, 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:07.640 the ones that make you feel like you're flying through 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:11.200 the air. Yeah. But you can't do that with a 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:13.680 wooden coaster, because you have to you can. You can 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:16.320 do all these things with the track and subsequently build 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:19.360 the cars to take advantage of that. Right, so you 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:24.040 can also put in new forms of launching your coaster. 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:28.080 So some some tubular coasters still use the the chain 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:30.600 lift method, which is, you know, the same way they 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:32.640 all the wooden ones do. Well, it works, but a 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:35.680 lot of them also use, or rather instead will use 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:39.880 something like a catapult launch, yes, which, as you would 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:42.760 imagine it, it is, uses a device to launch the 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:46.840 train very quickly from a standing position to full speed. Um. 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:49.440 And there are various ways of doing that. Some of 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:52.680 them use linear induction motors uh. And that's where you 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:56.680 generate an electromagnetic field to uh to move the coaster 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:58.760 along the track. Now, there aren't very many of these 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:02.440 there only I think maybe half a dozen to a 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:04.560 dozen or something like that, just because it's i mean, 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:06.480 that's a very technical way of doing it, and there 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:09.480 are other ways that are not as technical as people 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:12.960 have found to be easier, so you don't see those 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:18.880 uh that often. But another method just uses a series 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:22.120 of wheels on either side of the coaster. Yeah. Can 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:25.000 I tell you a story? Go ahead. So the very 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:30.440 first time I got on the Hulk ride UM down 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:34.880 in Orlando, Florida. UM, I we my wife and I 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:37.120 were sitting in the car and looking up the hill 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:39.920 and we saw, you know, of course we're at that point, 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:42.040 we were on a chain lift, so because they were 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:43.680 sort of man, you know, doing that to do the 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:46.440 bulk lifting, if you will, to get us started up 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:48.640 the hill. So we're looking up and I see all 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:51.800 these wheels spinning on either side of the track, and 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:54.400 suddenly my mind flashes back to this hot wheels set 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:57.560 of my brothers, which had a little rubber wheel on 0:16:57.600 --> 0:16:59.560 either side of the track, and I said, oh, yeah, 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:02.840 that's the the wheel they use to you know, propel 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:07.119 the cars around the hold on. That was about the point. 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:09.920 That was about the point at which we caught those wheels, 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:13.240 and the wheels spin in opposite directions of from one another, 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:17.439 and just the car takes off exactly the same principle 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:20.720 that you see and things like like automatic baseball pitching 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:24.359 machines where it's just it's using that amazing amount of 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:28.120 friction to propel you forward. And uh so that's that's 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:31.000 what it works. Yeah, it does work. And then there 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:35.840 are hydraulic and pneumatic launch systems. Now, hydraulic launch systems 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:40.119 these are pretty cool. They use the hydraulic hydraulic pumps 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:43.639 which pump fluid into a piston. Right, So you've got 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:46.040 one side of the piston, the wet side, which is 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.359 where the hydraulic fluid is pumped in, and you have 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.000 the dry side, which has gas in it. Alright, So 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:54.000 as you're pumping fluid in, it's pushing the piston towards 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:58.439 the the gas end, which is compressing the gas, and 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.360 you create and credible amount of compression. Yes, Now, when 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:05.320 you've built up that compression to a certain amount, you 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:09.840 are able to release that compression, which then uh generates 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:15.440 enough energy to move some a winch very very very quickly. Now, 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:19.680 the winch pulls a line which is attached to the 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:24.399 the the base of the coaster itself forward. So the 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:26.640 winch is turning really really fast. It's pulling a line 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:30.320 kind of like if you were reeling in a fish, right, 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.320 but reeling in a fish faster than any human being 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:36.800 could ever reel a fish in. This pulls the coaster 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:40.680 forward and launches it from the standing still to oh 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:43.000 my god, I can't believe how fast we're going. Yes, 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:46.000 they've been on several of these. Then there's also the 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:49.960 pneumatic one, which uses air compressed air to launch vehicles. 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.320 It's kind of similar in a way, although it doesn't 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:54.639 you know, there's no there's no hydraulic fluid there. There 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:58.480 aren't very many pneumatic launch coasters. Most of the catapult 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:02.560 ones that you, okay, uh find in amusement parks today 0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:05.720 are of the hydraulic launch variety or use the wheels 0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:09.879 on either side the friction method. Uh So, I was 0:19:09.920 --> 0:19:12.680 gonna talk a little bit about a very specific um 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:16.680 launch coaster just because it's a good example, the top 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:20.720 thrilled Dragster at Cedar Point. Okay, this coaster is a 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:23.880 very simple coaster in a way. Uh. It has a 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:28.200 straight track from the launch point that then shoots straight 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:31.720 up four d and twenty feet. You turn ninety degrees 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:35.000 and you come back down that that hill and then 0:19:35.040 --> 0:19:39.280 you come to a stop so uh at launch when 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:41.359 you when by the time you are starting to go 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:45.119 up that hill, the coaster is going approximately a hundred 0:19:45.160 --> 0:19:50.880 and twenty miles per hour UM. It's pretty fast. What's 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:54.439 really interesting is that there are computer systems that judge, 0:19:54.800 --> 0:19:57.359 based upon the weight of the train, how much energy 0:19:57.440 --> 0:20:00.320 is going to be needed to to propel the train 0:20:00.480 --> 0:20:03.040 up and over the hill. Now, ideally you're going to 0:20:03.119 --> 0:20:07.239 use just enough energy for that to barely happen, right, 0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:09.680 because you don't want to use too much. You don't 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:11.440 want to propel them too quickly or else they're gonna 0:20:11.440 --> 0:20:16.040 be coming down that hill faster than they are supposed to. However, 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:18.679 if you don't use enough, well, then you start to 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:23.760 slide backwards. So sometimes it does happen. I actually saw 0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:26.159 that I've written this this coaster. I'm sure several of 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:28.560 our listeners have also written it UM and I have 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:31.600 seen while waiting in line a coaster come back down 0:20:31.680 --> 0:20:34.880 the hill. It's not as scary as you would think. 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:38.520 There are permanent magnets in the track that activate after 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:41.440 the train goes by that slow the descent, so it's 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:44.240 not like it's not like you're hurtling down a hundred 0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:47.440 twenty months per hour. They had to have been prepared 0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:50.760 for such an eventuality if they were, you know, concerned 0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:53.320 enough to put in a system that would automatically detect. 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:56.800 So the magnets are are what save you in that sense. 0:20:57.000 --> 0:20:59.359 And their permanent magnets are not electro magnets because of 0:20:59.359 --> 0:21:02.160 course they were like tromagnets and there was an electricity failure, 0:21:02.400 --> 0:21:04.879 you wouldn't have the electricity to generate the magnetic field. 0:21:05.240 --> 0:21:07.680 So with permanent magnets, they're all there's always a magnetic 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.679 field involved. They don't have to worry about, you know, 0:21:10.800 --> 0:21:16.359 the somehow losing the ability to generate the electromagnetic field. Um. 0:21:16.359 --> 0:21:19.000 It's a great coaster, by the way, especially if you 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:22.800 can ride in the very front car. I'll take your 0:21:22.840 --> 0:21:25.560 word for it. I wrote it twice. Um, not my 0:21:25.600 --> 0:21:29.639 favorite coaster, but it is a pretty good one. Um. 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:33.400 Let's see that pretty much covers the basis the basics 0:21:33.440 --> 0:21:36.879 of roller coasters. Uh. I mean, as you mentioned, there 0:21:36.920 --> 0:21:39.679 are those that are suspended coasters where the track is 0:21:39.680 --> 0:21:41.840 above you, but they work pretty much on the same 0:21:41.840 --> 0:21:45.679 principles as the ones where you're you're on top of 0:21:45.720 --> 0:21:48.560 the track. That's the beauty of roller coasters is that 0:21:49.080 --> 0:21:52.399 while you can put in new tricks and twists and 0:21:52.440 --> 0:21:55.920 things like that, the the basis for the entire ride 0:21:55.960 --> 0:22:01.520 is still grounded in physics. Pretty neat it is. Indeed. Um, 0:22:01.560 --> 0:22:03.400 you know, you can get very technical and talk about 0:22:03.520 --> 0:22:07.520