Obviously a number like this is going to vary widely, but I'd be interested to know even just a ballpark figure. Specifically, a LIM-launched coaster like V2 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. The train is moving at freeway speeds by the second pass through the station. And how much power does a traditional lift hill coaster require? Again, I'm not looking for a specific answer.
2007-05-26 17:05:49 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Let's try a lift hill coaster first and make it about 100 ft or 30 meters high. We have to give the coaster mgh worth of potential energy to lift its center of gravity those 30 meters. G is about 10 m/sec2 and we'put 10 people, about 500 kg, in a coaster that is 3x as heavy, for a total mass of 2000 kilos. Thats 600,000 newtons, which are watt-seconds. If we want to take 10 seconds to do it we need 60,000 watts for that 10 seconds, or about 90 horsepower. The same energy imparted horizontally to the train equals 1/2 mv2. so you get about 17.3 m/sec or 39 mi/hr speed boost. You need a lot more than 90 horsepower on the second pass though because you're trying to add the speed within the confines of the station, so you get less than 3 seconds or so on the second pass through the station for the energy to go in. Figure at least a quarter gigawatt - 400 horsepower or so.
2007-05-26 17:52:36 · answer #1 · answered by virtualguy92107 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, for my physics class , I had to find some stuff about the LIM-launched roller coaster at King's Dominion, VA called the Volcano. The Volcano's power was 12347 watts for a 75 second ride that had a max speed of 70 mph and a max height of 155 ft. This is also using a very rough estimate of the cart's mass as 2000 kg. I am not sure how much this helps you, but there you go.
2007-05-26 17:16:35 · answer #2 · answered by pjd4gnr 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most roller coasters (like those that have an incline before dropping) run purely on momentum. the ride you're describing, I'm not familiar with. the magnetic propulsion type rollercoasters... quite powerful, but I don't even have a figure. I'd guess at least a couple hundred KWh.
2007-05-26 17:15:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
That would be hard to answer with the information given specifically or otherwise. The current the motor(s) will draw will vary widely depending if they are moving the cars or not.
2007-05-26 17:12:50 · answer #4 · answered by timmn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The analysis of the last answer is exactly what you need, but 400 horsepower is about 0.3 megawatts (not gigawatts).
2007-05-27 03:11:21 · answer #5 · answered by Frank N 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
really fast
2007-05-26 17:12:32 · answer #6 · answered by Kaitey 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋