What forces are affecting you as you move through a roller coaster ride?

In roller coasters, the two forms of energy that are most important are gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy.



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A roller coaster is a machine that uses gravity and inertia to send a train of cars along a winding track. The combination of gravity and inertia, along with g-forces and centripetal acceleration give the body certain sensations as the coaster moves up, down, and around the track.

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However, the jerky and unpredictable movements of a roller coaster can cause the eye and the ear to send mismatched messages to the brain. For kids, this internal confusion feels exciting. But for adults, who are accustomed to more predictable motion, the outcome is often dizziness, vertigo or motion sickness.

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The truth is that most visits to the amusement park are full of thrills, fun and are statistically quite safe. However, some amusement park rides, and especially roller coasters, are a significant cause of neck and spine injuries. While these injuries don't make the nightly news, they can slow you down.

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The force of gravity pulling a roller coaster down hill causes the roller coaster to go faster and faster, it is accelerating. The force of gravity causes a roller coaster to go slower and slower when it climbs a hill, the roller coaster is decelerating or going slower.

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Traditionally, a rollercoaster relies on gravitational potential energy – the energy it possesses due to its height. It is pulled to the top of a big hill, the highest point of the ride, and released.

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When you go around a turn, you feel pushed against the outside of the car. This force is centripetal force and helps keep you in your seat. In the loop-the-loop upside down design, it's inertia that keeps you in your seat. Inertia is the force that presses your body to the outside of the loop as the train spins around.

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CoasterForce is a large free-to-join, unbiased and independent theme park and roller coaster enthusiast community. CoasterForce's mission is to encourage everybody, regardless of their level of enthusiasm, to visit as many theme parks as they can.

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It's the combination of lift hill and drop that are the scary parts for me. The lift hill builds anticipation so well, and then it's time for the hyper coaster level 90 degree descent, the first part of which occurs in total darkness.

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In roller coasters, the two forms of energy that are most important are gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy.

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Kingda Ka The minds behind the Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey clearly understood this, as they combined speed and height to create the scariest roller coaster in the world. The Kingda Ka is the world's tallest roller coaster, reaching a staggering height of 456 feet.

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The first hill of a roller coaster is always the highest point of the roller coaster because friction and drag immediately begin robbing the car of energy.

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People with high blood pressure and/or heart conditions are warned not to ride roller coasters because of the way they tax the cardiovascular system.

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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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06 September 22 - 5 Interesting Facts About Roller Coasters
  • The First Roller Coaster was Built in 1817. ...
  • Britain's Oldest Surviving Roller Coaster was Built in 1920. ...
  • There are More Than 2,400 Roller Coasters in the World Today. ...
  • Roller Coaster are Among the Safest Rides. ...
  • Roller Coaster Loops are Never Perfectly Circular.


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