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Roller Coasters are amazingly designed!!!
Me and my friend jason got stuck on a roller coaster in SF Great Adventure, so while at almost the vertex of the first hill, we're talking to the attendent (I love you Jeff, he is a god among men) we were discussing the physics and fail safe's of the coasters. They are amazing. I always thought that the coasters had some sort of power within them, but they rely fully on PEg=mgh turning into KE=1/2mv^2. All of the brakes are pneumatic/Hydralic. We got stuck because the power went out and Jeff told us that the cylinders would automatically activate to stop the car at the end of the ride. Also, since the cars rely on gravity, if power went out in the middle of the ride, it wouldn't matter for us because of gravity!!! I soooo want to work for the people that design the roller coasters.
PS
If anyone goes to SF Great Adventure, take a look at Batman and Robin, The Chiller, it is powered by linear induction, so what me and jason were thinking is, 'what would happen if the power went out while the car was gaining speed, (the roller coaster doesnt have a hill, it goes from 0-60 in like 2 seconds), but if the power went out, wouldnt the car not have enough power to finish the ride and get stuck somewhere, wheres the fail safe of that???
Shrey and Jason (Ulibrium)
Team 920
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