Introduction

Rol er Coaster engineering Cool! Let’s get rolling !

What do roller coaster engineers need to know in order to design thrilling — and safe — rides? It’s all about physics! Roller coasters are designed by teams with a range of expertise, including structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers.

One thing you may not realize when you’re zooming around a roller coaster track at high speeds is that the train you’re on has no engine. To make riders scream, roller coaster designers rely on one very important force: gravity.

On traditional coasters, a train climbs a lift hill to gain gravitational potential energy. The higher the train climbs, the more energy it stores up for the rest of the ride. When the train begins its descent, potential energy is converted into kinetic energy — the energy of motion. The more kinetic energy the car has, the faster its speed. When the train climbs the coaster’s next hill, or zooms through a vertical loop, kinetic energy is converted back into potential energy.

Modern roller coasters accelerate trains with mechanisms that create other forms of potential energy, including electromagnetic and elastic potential energy. These coasters can reach greater speeds than those with a conventional “lift hill.” This kit includes a spring-powered launcher to create an initial burst of speed.

In this kit, you will build many different model roller coasters, from simple to complex, and conduct twenty experiments to test the physics principles involved in engineering awesome roller coasters.