8)Design+of+Roller-Coasters

= Design of Roller-Coasters =


 * The higher the hill, the more kinetic energy it takes for the roller coaster to reach the peak.
 * The higher the hill, the more potential energy the roller coaster gains upon reaching the peak.
 * The high the hill, the more kinetic energy acting on the roller coaster when it goes down the slope.
 * The steeper the slope, the less time there is for the roller coaster to move down the slpoe.
 * The steeper the slope, the faster the roller coaster moves down the slope.
 * Large amount of potential and kinetic energy is needed for the roller coaster to go around a loop.
 * The first hill is normally the highest, followed by increasingly smaller hills
 * The high hill creates more gravitational potential energy, allowing the roller coaster to climb up the following hills

It is important for roller-coasters to have a high GPE at the start so when they slide down a slope, enough of the GPE is converted to KE to enable it to pass the next upward slope. Observe what happens when there is not enough KE.

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Is it possible to build a maglev roller-coaster? A magnetic levitation roller coaster can be built to attain high speeds as it completely removes friction between the wheels of the roller-coaster and the tracks, but however several factors have to be taken into account
 * The track cannot have a 360 degrees loop, as the roller coaster would just fall off. This is because the roller coaster is only levitating as magnetic forces pointing upwards are equal to the weight of the roller coaster pointing downwards, hence there is no net force, and hence no acceleration (the train doesn't move up and down). If the roller coaster were to turn 180 degrees, it would simply fall off the track as the weight now points in the same direction as the magnetic force
 * Cost