Do you feel heavier at the top or bottom of a Ferris wheel?

The centripetal acceleration always points towards the center of the circle. So at the bottom of the circle, the centripetal acceleration is pointing up, so riders feel heavier than their true weight. At the top of the circle, it is pointing down, so riders feel lighter than their true weight.



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Riders may experience weightlessness at the tops of hills (negative g-forces) and feel heavy at the bottoms of hills (positive g-forces). This feeling is caused by the change in direction of the roller coaster. At the top of a roller coaster, the car goes from moving upward to flat to moving downward.

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A Ferris wheel goes round and round. Up to the top you ride feeling the wind in your face and seeing all the sights. To the bottom you go, hearing the giggles of delight and smelling delicious popcorn and cotton candy. ?Just as you really begin to enjoy yourself, you feel it come to a stop.

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The centripetal acceleration always points towards the center of the circle. So at the bottom of the circle, the centripetal acceleration is pointing up, so riders feel heavier than their true weight. At the top of the circle, it is pointing down, so riders feel lighter than their true weight.

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The same can be said for this phenomenon on roller coasters. “You feel very light at the top of loops, but heavier than usual at the bottom” (Boston University).

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In a coaster that has seats facing backward, the rear car offers the best of both worlds -- you get a great view and the most intense ride.

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A Ferris wheel ride where guests ride in gondolas suspended from the outer rim of the wheel.

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Most rides without any kind of restraints that go high will not allow single riders for the possibility of suicide. Possible risk of suicide is one possibility.

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Fear of roller coasters, also known as veloxrotaphobia, is the extreme fear of roller coasters. It can also be informally referred to as coasterphobia. Such a fear is thought to originate from one or more of three factors: childhood trauma, fear of heights, and parental fears that “rub off” on their children.

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While a Ferris wheel separation would be devastatingly catastrophic in Real Life, it wouldn't roll very far. The wheel itself isn't very strong, and would collapse under its own weight. Fortunately, a breakage of this sort would be extraordinarily unlikely.

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