Why did roller coaster designers switch from a circular loop to an elliptical or teardrop shaped loop?
Physics/MechanicsMost roller coaster loops are not circular in shape. A commonly used shape is the clothoid loop, which resembles an inverted tear drop and allows for less intense G-forces throughout the element for the rider.
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A circular loop has two very fundamental problems: The g-forces that a body is exposed to at the bottom of the loop exceed what is safe (when travelling at a speed that just allows the car to sail over the top of the loop).
Roller coasters today employ clothoid loops rather than the circular loops of earlier roller coasters. This is because circular loops require greater entry speeds to complete the loop.
development of roller coastersNow known simply as Revolution, it lived up to its name for its innovative clothoid loop (of teardrop shape) designed by Anton Schwarzkopf of Germany for the Swiss builder Intamin AG.
TIL why roller coaster loops are never circular but instead are designed with an upside down teardrop shape. Perfectly circular loops will subject riders to up to 6 Gs of g-force, causing them to get injured.
There are two types of electromagnetic propulsion used on roller coasters: linear induction motors (LIM) and linear synchronous motors (LSM). Wicked has horizontal and vertical LSM powered launches. Linear Induction Motors use multiple sets of high powered electromagnets secured to the track.
Basic mathematical subjects such as calculus help determine the height needed to allow the car to get up the next hill, the maximum speed, and the angles of ascent and descent. These calculations also help make sure that the roller coaster is safe. No doubt about it--math keeps you on track.
Heels up, heads down! Are you daring - or, perhaps, crazy - enough to ride the Loop the Loop? The first looping roller coaster was Lina Beecher's infamous Flip Flap Railway, installed at Sea Lion Park. Riding the Flip Flap Railway was a bit of a death wish because it used a perfectly circular loop.
For a roller coaster, gravity pulls down on the cars and its riders with a constant force, whether they move uphill, downhill, or through a loop. The rigid steel tracks, together with gravity, provide the centripetal force needed to keep the cars on the arching path as they move through the loop.