I visited Bowcraft Amusement Park recently. It is meant for little kids, or kids who do not like excessively fast or long roller coasters (like my sister or I).
When you think of amusement parks, what do you think of? Exactly: Roller Coasters! Those wild and exhilarating rides! But the most interesting part is to see how exactly do they work.
Most people think that a roller coaster is powered throughout the whole ride. I thought so too. However I learnt that it is not true for typical roller coasters. The ride is only powered going up that first hill. Did you ever notice the chain that is pulling it up and disappears when it goes back down? While going uphill, you gain potential energy. Potential energy is when energy is stored in an object and the amount of energy depends on how high the object is and its mass. It's the same idea with dropping a ball. If you drop it from higher, it will fall faster, as opposed to dropping from lower. So, when the roller coaster goes up, it's building that potential energy.
Then, when it goes back down, the chain disappears. Remember all that potential energy the roller coaster built up? Well, all that turns into kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. When you raise a ball to drop, it gathers potential energy. When you drop it, the potential energy converts to kinetic energy. So, the more potential energy there is, the more kinetic energy there will be.
But that's not the end of the ride! When the next hill comes, all the kinetic energy you gained from going down the first hill, is converted back into potential energy as you go up the second hill. That hill has to be lower, because some of the energy is lost to friction, which is the force when two or more objects rub against each other, and that slows you down.
So, the next time you go on a roller coaster, keep a watch on the chain that is pulling you up, and that the higher the hill, the faster you go while coming down!
I really liked researching about roller coasters, and how they go so fast, so roller coasters can definitely ride up and down My Cool Lane!
When you think of amusement parks, what do you think of? Exactly: Roller Coasters! Those wild and exhilarating rides! But the most interesting part is to see how exactly do they work.
Most people think that a roller coaster is powered throughout the whole ride. I thought so too. However I learnt that it is not true for typical roller coasters. The ride is only powered going up that first hill. Did you ever notice the chain that is pulling it up and disappears when it goes back down? While going uphill, you gain potential energy. Potential energy is when energy is stored in an object and the amount of energy depends on how high the object is and its mass. It's the same idea with dropping a ball. If you drop it from higher, it will fall faster, as opposed to dropping from lower. So, when the roller coaster goes up, it's building that potential energy.
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| When the coaster goes up, it builds potential energy, so that it goes faster downhill. |
Then, when it goes back down, the chain disappears. Remember all that potential energy the roller coaster built up? Well, all that turns into kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. When you raise a ball to drop, it gathers potential energy. When you drop it, the potential energy converts to kinetic energy. So, the more potential energy there is, the more kinetic energy there will be.
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| When you reach the peak in a roller coaster, potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, which carries you through the rest of the ride. |
But that's not the end of the ride! When the next hill comes, all the kinetic energy you gained from going down the first hill, is converted back into potential energy as you go up the second hill. That hill has to be lower, because some of the energy is lost to friction, which is the force when two or more objects rub against each other, and that slows you down.
So, the next time you go on a roller coaster, keep a watch on the chain that is pulling you up, and that the higher the hill, the faster you go while coming down!
I really liked researching about roller coasters, and how they go so fast, so roller coasters can definitely ride up and down My Cool Lane!
