Types of Roller Coaster Restraints
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IMG_1263.MOVThere are 4 main types of roller coaster restraints.
Each are used on certain roller coasters depending on the roller coasters experience. Can you guess what each type is used for?
-Lap Bar: sits in a fixed position and prevents the rider from standing up
-Locking Lap Bar: Locks into a custom position depending on the rider to prevent the rider form falling out
-Over the Shoulder Restraint: Harness comes over the shoulder and latches between the legs to prevent rider from falling out during slow inversions or negative gravity situations.
-T-Bar: found on hyper or gig coasters that travel at high speeds, modified lap bar with handles.
Forces on your Buckle!
When riding a roller coaster you are actively experiencing a battle of forces on your body. Gravity is acting on your body or mass pulling you toward earth. Acceleration force is the force created by the velocity in which you are traveling; this results in a force pushing your mass in the direction of travel. These forces in combination with other forces create your ride experience. Understanding how these forces interact helps us understand roller coaster safety and experience.
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Gravity
Gravity
Gravity or Gravitational Force is felt on every object on earth at all times. Gravitational force is the attractive force between objects. For us we will the gravitational force between ourselves and the Earth's surface.
When riding a roller coaster this becomes very important to keep in mind especially when traveling through loops and turns. Gravity wants to pull our body mass towards the earth. This is where restraints like seat belts help out to keep us in the roller coaster car.
Acceleration Force
Acceleration Force
Acceleration Force is another force that we experience when riding roller coasters. Acceleration force is created by the velocity in which you are traveling and when the net force acting on an object is less than the objects mass and friction acting on the object and the object is allowed to accelerate in the direction of the force being applied.
When riding a roller coaster this is the acceleration we feel as we move through the roller coaster. The acceleration has to be greater then the weight the roller coaster is carrying, gravity, and friction. This keeps the coaster car traveling along the tracks at a given speed.
When on a roller coaster the velocity or speed at which you are traveling, the radius of the roller coaster components, and its balance with how gravity is acting on your mass creates the feeling of weightlessness as you ride. This combination is what holds you to your seat or pulls you from it as you travel through turns and over hills.
Centripetal Force
Centripetal Force
Centripetal Force is a force that acts on a body moving in a circular path. This force is directed toward the center of the circle in which the object is traveling.
This force is experienced when riding a roller coaster and you travel through a loop to loop. When traveling through an inversion such as a loop-to-loop the interaction of forces acting on your mass gets a little more complicated.
The radius of the loop and the speed in which you travel through it has to be in the right combination so that it stays larger than the force of gravity on your mass. The combination of the radius of the loop and the velocity in which you travel through the loop is known as centripetal force. If the combination of velocity and loop radius remains larger than gravity it allows you to travel in a loop or circle without flying out of it.
If this math is worked correctly there is no need for a harness to hold you in because the centripetal force will hold you in the car and move you through the loop safely. As long as the radius of the circle of the loop and the velocity in which you travel through the loop is greater than the force of gravity acting on you, the path in which you are traveling will stay consistent and you will remain in your seat.
Knowing these basic forces that act on your mass as you ride a roller coaster lets see if we can recreate it!
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