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Long lines don’t prevent enthusiasts from riding roller coasters designed to thrill and excite! Faster. Higher. Longer. More twists and turns. Amusement parks are in competition to create the next thrill ride. They hope to satisfy even the toughest coaster critics. But how do amusement parks design and build these massive monsters they hope will draw thousands of thrill seekers? Designing a Coaster Like most of the things around you, roller coasters start out as an idea in someone’s head. Usually that someone is a designer. Before designers start, they must consider many different things. For example, if the coaster is designed for children, the hills will most likely be gentle. The cars’ speed might be slow. Designers might use tall hills and maximum speeds for those ultimate thrill seekers. However, there is one thing that is true for most coasters—the first hill is the tallest. Why is this? A roller coaster’s cars do not have engines. So as a coaster’s cars are pulled up the hill, they gain potential energy. After the cars round the top of the hill and begin their descent, the potential energy is changed into kinetic energy.

Some roller coasters have loops and turns that take riders upside down! Designers must determine how to get the cars to go fast enough to complete the loop, while keeping the passengers safe. P_Wei/E+/Getty Images P_Wei/E+/Getty

2 Designing Steel Giants The kinetic energy is transformed If a designer placed the tallest hill back into potential energy when the at the end of the ride, the cars cars climb the next hill. might not have enough energy to The total energy the cars have never make it to the other side of the hill. goes up, only down. This is because Coaster designers have to know a friction slowly changes the cars’ lot about forces and energy. They energy into heat. also need to have strong math skills. Tallest Steel Roller Coasters

KINGDA KA = 139M Six Flags Great Adventure Jackson, New Jersey

TOP THRILL DRAGSTER = 128M Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

SUPERMAN: ESCAPE FROM KRYPTON = 126M Six Flags Magic Mountain Valencia, California TOWER OF TERROR II = 115M 139M = 3X Dreamworld, Queensland, Australia THE STATUE FURY 325 = 99M OF LIBERTY Carowinds Charlotte, North Carolina

Fastest Steel Roller Coasters

FORMULA ROSSA 0 TO 240 KM/H IN 4.9 SECONDS

FORMULA ROSSA = 240 KM/H DODONPA = 172 KM/H Ferrari World, United Arab Emirates Fuji-Q Highland, Yamanashi, Japan

KINGDA KA = 206 KM/H SUPERMAN: ESCAPE FROM Six Flags Great Adventure KRYPTON = 160 KM/H Jackson, New Jersey Six Flags Magic Mountain Valencia, California = 193 KM/H Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio Mark Evans/E+/Getty Images Mark Evans/E+/Getty

3 Every little detail is calculated. Of course, Coaster Construction length and distance must be configured. The height of the first hill must be calculated. The Most steel coasters are built in sections at forces the cars exert on the track must also a factory. Construction crews cut and weld be calculated. Even the forces exerted on the the pieces into the required shapes. The riders must be calculated. Riders could be pieces are then shipped to the site where injured if these forces are too high. they will be put together. Before a coaster can be installed, the Testing a Prototype area where it is to be located needs to be After designers have laid out the roller prepared. Then a foundation is built out of coaster, a prototype is constructed. A concrete. Support pieces are attached to prototype is a model that is used for testing. the foundation. The track is then bolted to Sensors are added to the prototype’s cars the support structures. Electrical wiring is to collect data. Designers use this data installed, and the coaster might be painted. to go back and refine the original design The coaster competition is fierce. Most visitors many times until they are satisfied with the to amusement parks are there for the roller coaster’s design. coasters. To keep their customers coming back year after year, amusement parks will continue to experiment with different techniques to create unique experiences. What will coasters look like in the future?

Be a Roller Coaster Designer 1. Explain how coaster cars can move “Test dummies” are used to see without engines. the ride’s effects on its passengers. 2. Research and write a report that compares wooden roller coasters with steel roller coasters. (cl)Maurice Volmeyer/Shutterstock.com, (b)Digital Vision/Getty Images

4 Designing Steel Giants