Why do roller coasters get faster?

According to Kevin Hickerson, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology, “All the energy a roller coaster gets comes from the initial point it's cranked up to, and from there it just gains more and more kinetic energy.” The height of this first drop also determines the speed of the coaster cars.



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Rollercoaster trains have no engine or no power source of their own. Instead, they rely on a supply of potential energy that is converted to kinetic energy. Traditionally, a rollercoaster relies on gravitational potential energy – the energy it possesses due to its height.

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The maximum speed of a roller coaster is determined by the height at which the train is released or the energy input into the system via a launch, but there are additional factors that determine how far it will roll before stopping.

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Typically, roller coasters can reach speeds of up to 60-70 mph or more, and many people find this to be an exhilarating experience.

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Two of the most significant are friction and air resistance. As you ride a roller coaster, its wheels rub along the rails, creating heat as a result of friction. This friction slows the roller coaster gradually, as does the air that you fly through as you ride the ride.

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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.

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In roller coasters, the two forms of energy that are most important are gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy. Gravitational potential energy is the energy that an object has because of its height and is equal to the object's mass multiplied by its height multiplied by the gravitational constant (PE = mgh).

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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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So if you are sitting at the front, you will start going down the hill at the point in time that the entire train is going slowly; whereas if you are sitting at the back you will start going down the hill when the train is going the fastest. Front usually has best views but the back has the most thrills!

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The last car is pulled faster over the curve, and so experiences greater acceleration tangential to the track, even though its linear acceleration along the direction of the track is the same as the first car.

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The adrenaline rush that roller coasters give you causes a rapid spike in your heart rate and blood pressure. Those with high blood pressure, heart disease, or a heart rhythm disorder (atrial fibrillation) are already at risk for stroke.

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The Steel Dragon 2000 is the longest roller coaster in the world, measuring a whopping 8,133 feet in length. When construction on the coaster finished in August of 2000, it was officially christened the longest in the world, with a Guinness World Record being given to the park for the world's longest track.

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Most roller coasters run by the Law of Inertia. Since an object at rest stays at rest, all roller coasters have to be pushed or pulled to get started.

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10 Things You Never Knew About Roller Coasters
  • If all countries were as cold as Russia, roller coasters may not exist. ...
  • The world's fastest roller coaster is very fast. ...
  • The U.S.'s first roller coaster was very slow. ...
  • There's a roller coaster still in use that's over 100 years old.


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If the tracks tilt up, gravity applies a downward force on the back of the coaster, so it decelerates. Since an object in motion tends to stay in motion (Newton's first law of motion), the coaster car will maintain a forward velocity even when it is moving up the track, opposite the force of gravity.

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The force of forward momentum slowly depreciates throughout the ride. At the end of the ride friction between the wheels and the track or wheels and their brakes slowly wins out and the cars come to a halt. The harder the brakes are applied the more rapidly the coaster will come to a stop, also known as deceleration.

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Rollercoaster loops are most often not perfect circles – instead, they are teardrop-like in shape. This is because it takes a greater amount of acceleration to get the train around a perfectly circular loop.

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Superman: Escape from Krypton has an incredible 415-foot tall tower. It holds the distinction of being the first coaster to reach 100 mph.

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Kingda Ka, 128 mph Kingda Ka, the other stratacoaster, is the tallest, fastest, most insane roller coaster in North America, as well as the world's tallest and second-fastest. (The 149 mph Formula Rossa in the United Arab Emirates is the world's champ.)

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