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Mechanical Energy encompasses both Kinetic and Potential energies. A roller coaster is a perfect example of both. At the very top of a hill, the roller coaster has a lot of potential energy due to position above the earth. As it goes down a hill, this potential energy decreases as it gets closer to the earth, and it's kinetic energy increases as it gets faster.
KE = energy of motion
PE = potential energy due to position above the earth
ME = KE+PE
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoKinetic Energy is the energy of motion. It is equal to mass times velocity squared. So KINETIC ENERGY = MASS x VELOCITY^2, where ^ indicates raise to a power.
Since for a given passenger load the mass does not change, the roller coaster reaches maximum kinetic energy when it reaches maximum velocity. For most designs, this will occur at the bottom of the longest drop.
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoThe train of cars.
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoThe cars (and the passengers in them).
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What does a roller coaster do?
Well, to understand what a roller coaster does you will need to understand what a roller coaster is. A roller coaster is a small vehicle that runs along a fixed track. What a roller coaster does is move along that fixed track at very high speeds, and many people find this very thrilling And if your wondering how a roller coaster works Well, there are 2 types of roller coaster, most commonly the Chain Lift, The chain lift works by hooks on the bottom of the roller coaster car that hook on to a roller chain (the type of chain you would find on a bicycle) and the chain pulls you all the way to the top of the big hill, This is the part where you hear all the clicking. As you start going down the big hill the hooks simply slide out of the chain and gravity starts to take over, but the roller coaster can stay moving because of Kinetic energy and Potential energy. So the 3 things that are very important to a Roller Coaster are Kinetic energy, Potential energy, and gravity. A roller coaster works sort of like rolling a ball down a hill. For info on the launched roller coaster check out the related links.
What part of a roller coaster has the greatest potential?
When you are going down you have the most potential energy because the roller coaster and the speed is helping you go faster!
How come when you make a roller coaster in Roller coaster designer and then put it in a park it doesn't let you It keeps saying roller coaster position too high?
If in roller coaster designer you get the coaster to go underground, then that's the problem. If you load that coaster you can't put a part of it underground.
How does the angle of the roller coaster affect the roller coaster?
The height of hills affect the roller coaster by the amount of gravitational potential energy that is collected while rising. The more GPE you amass as you ascend, the more kinetic energy is affected. GPE=(mass)(9.81m/s2)(height). Therefore, the higher the hill, the greater the potential energy. The greater the GPE, the more speed (Kinetic Energy) is able to be used.
What part of the roller coaster has the greatest amount of potential energy?
That would be a section of the steel track installed at the top of the first hill.
What is inversion in a roller coaster?
A part where the riders go upside-down.
What is a roller coaster inversion?
A part where the riders go upside-down.
Do roller coaster engineers have a civil or mechanical engineering degree?
That will depend on which part of the roller coaster you're talking about. The moving parts (the cars and the driving mechanisms etc) will be designed by a mechanical engineer. The structure of the roller coaster itself (the towers and trackway and the foundations on which it stands) will be designed by a civil engineer.
What are the release dates for Wonder Woman - 1975 Phantom of the Roller Coaster Part 2 3-24?
Wonder Woman - 1975 Phantom of the Roller Coaster Part 2 3-24 was released on: USA: 11 September 1979
What are the release dates for Wonder Woman - 1975 Phantom of the Roller Coaster Part 1 3-23?
Wonder Woman - 1975 Phantom of the Roller Coaster Part 1 3-23 was released on: USA: 4 September 1979
What is a walkable roller coaster?
The Tiger & Turtle is a roller-coaster at Magic Mountain Germany. It has steps and slopes that are climbed with human power - in other words, you walk on it. It is a 69-foot roller coaster, which puts the visitor 148 feet above the surrounding countryside of Duisbu, Germany. There is an upside-down loop on the coaster, but you can't actually walk on that part.
How does potential energy turned into kinetic?
Kinetic and Potential EnergyHistoryA roller coaster train going down hill represents merely a complex case as a body is descending an inclined plane. Newton's first two laws relate force and acceleration, which are key concepts in roller coaster physics. At amusement parks, Newton's laws can be applied to every ride. These rides range from 'The Swings' to The 'Hammer'. Newton was also one of the developers of calculus which is essential to analyzing falling bodies constrained on more complex paths than inclined planes. A roller coaster rider is in an gravitational field except with the Principle of Equivalence.Potential EnergyPotential energy is the same as stored energy. The "stored" energy is held within the gravitational field. When you lift a heavy object you exert energy which later will become kinetic energy when the object is dropped. A lift motor from a roller coaster exerts potential energy when lifting the train to the top of the hill. The higher the train is lifted by the motor the more potential energy is produced; thus, forming a greater amount if kinetic energy when the train is dropped. At the top of the hills the train has a huge amount of potential energy, but it has very little kinetic energy.Kinetic EnergyThe word "kinetic" is derived from the Greek word meaning to move, and the word "energy" is the ability to move. Thus, "kinetic energy" is the energy of motion --it's ability to do work. The faster the body moves the more kinetic energy is produced. The greater the mass and speed of an object the more kinetic energy there will be. As the train accelerates down the hill the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. There is very little potential energy at the bottom of the hill, but there is a great amount of kinetic energy.TheoryWhen the train is at the top and bottom of the hill there is not any potential or kinetic energy being used at all. The train at the bottom of the first drop should have enough energy to get back up the height of the lift hill. The "Act of Faith" in riding these amazing rides which seems more of a phenomena that is only a theory. In practices, the train never could make it back up the hill because of dissipative forces. Friction and air resistance, and even possible mid-course breaks, are dissipative forces causing the theory to be changed but not destroyed. These forces make it impossible for the train to have enough energy to make it back up the lift hill's height. In the absence of the dissipative forces the potential and kinetic energies(mechanical energy) will remain the same. Since the mechanical energy is destroyed by the forces, the first hill is always the highest
