A roller coaster moves through a vertical loop at a constant speed and suspends its passengers upside down. In what direction is the force that causes the coaster and its passengers to move in a circle? what provides this force?
yea i'm pretty lost so if someone could answer i'd appreciate it
2007-02-11 04:52:09 · 2 answers · asked by strawberrylollipop12345 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
This is possible because of the centripetal force. Gravity provides this force.
2007-02-11 05:04:40 · answer #1 · answered by ♫ Melody♫ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Suppose there were no gravity. Then at any moment the roller coaster would "want" to keep moving straight (Newton's Law of Inertia!), and the structure of the roller coaster forces it into a curve by pressing inward toward the center of the circle.
Gravity -- which of course pulls pretty much straight downward at all times -- is actually secondary to that.
Those are the two external forces acting.
2007-02-11 05:03:40 · answer #2 · answered by Curt Monash 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋