RONAN CARROLL
INTRODUCTION
Across the world, amusement parks and their various rides create fun and happiness for children and
adults alike. In order to meet this desired purpose, a lot of thought and consideration goes into the
design and construction of these rides. Most of this thought occurs in the realm of physics, as this area
particularly can make the difference between not only fun and boredom but also life and death, where
safety is concerned. This report concerns the physical thought that goes into the creation of three
amusement park rides:
FERRIS WHEEL
BACKGROUND
PHYSICS CONCEPT
At Point B, the gondola and rider are at the apex of the Ferris Wheel. As always, the weight force is
directed downwards. However, in this particular instance, the centripetal force, which is directed
towards the centre, is also directed downwards. As the two forces are in the same direction, then vector
subtraction is created, meaning that FT = Fc - FW (note the subtraction symbol). This means that the
resulting tension force is at its smallest at Point B. This also means that, in accordance with ΣF = m.g,
the gravitational acceleration at Point B will be lessened. This means that the rider will feel like they
weigh less than they really do.
A typical Ferris Wheel is the one at Luna Park, Sydney. It has a height of 20m and a radius of 9m, and
the period of rotation is roughly 20 minutes, or 1200 seconds. The average person weighs 75kg.
𝑚𝑣 2 2𝜋𝑟 2𝜋⋅9
At the bottom of the Ferris Wheel, FT = Fc + FW. 𝐹𝐶 = .𝑣 = = = 0.047123𝑚𝑠 −1.
𝑟 𝑇 1200
75⋅(0.047123)2
Therefore 𝐹𝐶 = 9
= 0.01850 N. FW =𝑚 ⋅ 𝑔 = 75 ⋅ 9.81 = 735.75 N. This means that the
resultant tension force is 735.7685 N at the bottom of the Wheel.
At the top of the Ferris Wheel, FT = Fc - FW. This means that, as all values stay the same, the resultant
tension force at the top of the Ferris Wheel is -735.7315. The negative value is due to the tension force
being in the opposite direction to the other value. The difference between the two forces is 0.37 N,
which is in fact a negligible force, one that the rider would not feel at all. This is because the scale of the
Ferris Wheel is far too large for the values to make any difference – on a smaller-scaled model, perhaps
the difference would be more noticeable.
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PIRATE SHIP
BACKGROUND
The Pirate Ship first made its debut as The Ocean Wave at the
Marshall Bros. Circus in 1897 and is credited to Charles Albert
Marshall. The ride consists of a gondola attached to a frame that acts
as a pendulum as it swings back and forth, creating a sensation not
unlike that of a rollercoaster.
PHYSICS
As 𝐹 = 𝑚 ⋅ 𝑎, and the mass of the pirate ship doesn’t change, then the acceleration must occur due to
the resultant force acting on the ship. This resultant force, or restoring force in SHM, is borne from the
tension force and weight force acting together, and depends on the direction of the tension force, as
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the weight force is always directed downwards. The tension force is always attached to the pivot point,
which means that the tension force is always directed towards the centre. This is why the ship always
accelerates towards the centre. At the centre, the tension force is directed straight upwards, which
means that there is no resultant force, which explains why there is no acceleration at the centre.
DODGEMS
BACKGROUND
PHYSICS CONCEPT
What makes the dodgems fun is that they can safely crash, which demonstrates 2D momentum
concepts. If an object has both mass and velocity (as a dodgem in motion does), it has momentum. A
regular dodgem has a mass of around 200 kg and can travel at a maximum of 2.23 ms-1. As 𝑝 = 𝑚 ⋅ 𝑣
(where p is momentum), then the maximum momentum of the average dodgem is 446 kgms-1.
Momentum has to be taken into careful consideration for an aspect which is key to both the
amusement and the safety of dodgems – a collision between two or more dodgems.
The main concept at play in a collision is the conservation of momentum 𝑝𝑖 = 𝑝𝑓 , which states that the
total momentum before and after a collision must be the same. The fact that the dodgems are free to
move in any direction means that only a fraction of collisions are 1-dimensional. As most collisions are
2D, then, momentum needs to be
incorporated as a vector quantity. When
two dodgems with separate momentums
collide, the total momentum must be
found and thusly a vector triangle is
formed. From this triangle, given certain
values, we can find the total momentum for both before and after the collision, which can enable us to
find the direction that each dodgem would travel in.
A key safety aspect of the dodgems, with the very essence of the ride being collision, is to reduce the
amount of force exerted on each dodgem in a collision, and thusly the driver. The concept of
momentum is also key in this respect. Change in momentum is known as impulse and is given by the
𝛥𝑝
equation 𝛥𝑝 = 𝐹𝛥𝑡 , which can be manipulated to show that 𝐹 = 𝛥𝑡
. This means that in a standard
collision, the amount of force exerted on the car can be reduced by increasing the time that the collision
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takes. This course of action is taken in many ways across many industries, and in the dodgem ride it
manifests itself in the form of the rubber ring around the dodgems, where the collisions take place. The
rubber rings increase the time taken in each collision, and since a time increase causes a force decrease,
less force will be applied to the car and rider, making the ride much safer.
CONCLUSION
Physics is very important in the amusement park industry, and is taken into consideration to create
maximum fun and minimum danger. Three examples of this are the Ferris Wheel, the Pirate Ship and
the Dodgems. The application of these physics concepts are just the tip of the iceberg of the real-world
applications of physics concepts, our knowledge of which make the world a better, safer and more fun
place to live.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
DATA/RESEARCH
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_ship_(ride)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_wheel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_cars
http://www.observationwheeldirectory.com/ferriswheelarticles/ferris-wheel-physics/
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091102135743AAa3Gte
http://bestonbumpercars.com/how-much-do-bumper-cars-weigh/
IMAGES
http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/questions-and-answers/common-amusement-park-
ride-ferris-wheel-drawn-scale--riders-sit-chairs-pivots-remain-level-q2427353
http://cnx.org/contents/FS-RnSOR@2/Simple-Harmonic-Motion
https://www.fantasyislandresort.co.uk/rides-and-attractions/the-dodgems/
http://pediaa.com/how-to-solve-momentum-problems/
https://www.bransontracks.com/rides/ferris-wheel/
http://www.hussrides.com/en/classic-rides/pirate-ship