Sunday, February 7, 2010

The Physics in Rides


I was so busy this past weekend that I had no time to go to the Punahou Carnival (which, I suppose, can be a good thing since I go to Iolani). However, thinking about the carnival made me get the idea of writing my physics blog about the physics in carnival rides. For instance, the Swings and the Ferris Wheel are good examples of uniform circular motion. On both rides, you sit in something as it goes around in a circle at a constant speed but constantly changing velocity. Pharaoh’s Fury is an example of a ride that moves like a pendulum. It goes back and forth, has its greatest velocity at the bottom, and its least velocity at the top of either side. Ring of Fire is a roller coaster, which demonstrates acceleration. After the roller coaster is released from rest at the top, it accelerates at a constantly rate downward and then decelerates at a constant rate back to the top. These are just a few examples of physics is carnival rides, but all rides have some kind of physics involved in them.

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