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Non-Inverting Coaster Add-On

 you sure won't invert!
 
(+2, -2) 		  [vote for,
against]

Using a balancing mechanism, this coaster add-on car (to the side of the coaster train) will prevent you from going upside-down on a coaster. As the train progresses up, a weight at the bottom of the car balances the extra seat, not allowing it to tilt excessively up or down. You still might rock a bit. As the train goes into loops, you would just be moving up and down as you smoothly glide through. Great for people who want to experience the coaster without intensity. However, there would have to be proper clearence on the coaster, so maybe this would be added to the back of the train.
—Nemmy, Apr 11 2005

X http://www.ultimate...coasters/reviews/x/
Mechanically controlled rotation [5th Earth, Apr 12 2005]

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       Why not just take a ride on the scenic railway, or the ferris wheel?
—goldilox, Apr 11 2005
   

       Some people might want to experience the coaster before riding it, or like heights and speed, but not going upside down.
—Nemmy, Apr 11 2005
   

       Interesting--you would not be able to see the 2nd half of the loop, then?
—yabba do yabba dabba, Apr 11 2005
   

       You would know what's happening, in theory, because you would see the element before going into it. Besides, isn't surprise a fun element to mix in?
—Nemmy, Apr 11 2005
   

       It's hard to say this won't be intense, or even as intense, for that matter. Centripugal (!) force seems to affect a passenger in same direction throughout the loop on traditional coasters. Of course, I'm not sure, but I think this might make people vomit more.
—yabba do yabba dabba, Apr 11 2005
   

       In the rollercoaster, at least my body does what my eyes and other senses tell me it is going to do, so I brace myself. With this invention my body will say to me: hey dude relax evrything is allright! But all my senses will scream the opposite. This is a great invention but I do believe it will only add to the thrill.
—zeno, Apr 11 2005
   

       I remember a coaster build like this. But, instead of gentle swings, it rotated furiously while going around sharp bends and loops. It was close to heaven for any coaster enthusiast.
—daseva, Apr 11 2005
   

       So are you suggesting that a rider would sit in a round cage (with a horizontal axis)? Interesting concept, though the ride would require some tricky engineering to avoid causing nausea. A well-designed loop will minimize tortional and longitudinal impetus and accelleration. A non-inverting car which went through a loop-shaped trajectory would subject the rider to considerably higher longitudinal impetus than a conventional inverting one; a suitably-designed pattern of rotation might be able to reduce the longitudinal parameters to acceptable levels, but I don't know whether that would be possible without pushing the tortional parameters out of bounds.   

       My guess would be that one could design an interesting and worthwhile coaster using this sort of concept, but the velocity behavior would have to be different from a conventional one. Most notably, the train would have to slow down on loops to an extent that would cause discomfort for passengers in a "conventional" car.
—supercat, Apr 11 2005
   

       Won't work.   

       The counterweight will always point in the direction of the overall force on a given car. At a standstill, this is downwards because of gravity--but in a loop, the predominant force is towards the track at all times due to cetripetal force (by design--it's generally a bad thing to have people fall out of their seats in a loop). In other words, when the car goes upside-down, the counterwieght will too, and you'll still end up with a new perspective on things.   

       Even worse, when going over a camelback (the peak of a simple hill) the predominant force will be upwards (the "floating" effect these track elements are designed for) and you'll end up abruptly flipping upside-down (and facing backwards) when under normal circumstances you wouldn't have done.   

       In other words, the only thing this design would do is eliminate any negative-g sections of the ride--by flipping you upside down. The ride will be MORE intense (by your definition of intensity--I personally feel a good camelback is more intense than a loop).   

       Now, people might actually enjoy this experience--but it will be for entirely different reasons than what you were aiming for.
—5th Earth, Apr 11 2005
   

       [Romulox], the coaster is called X, and it's at Six Flags Magic Mountain.   

       [5th Earth], it all depends. For instance, unless you have some heavy trims, the camelback on Kingda Ka will be pretty damn intense. But I find that a good loop could be intense (like Dueling Dragons' cobra roll).
—Nemmy, Apr 12 2005
   

       I thought this idea was for a drink coaster addon to keep drinks from spilling.
—Giblet, Apr 12 2005
   

       [Nemmy], I think you missed my point. You said:   

       "As the train goes into loops, you would just be moving up and down as you smoothly glide through. Great for people who want to experience the coaster without intensity."   

       This statement logically means that upside-down==intense.   

       Your counterweight design will always undergo the same number *or more* inversions than the conventional version of the same coaster. Therefore, by your implicit definition of intense, the counterweighted car will always have an equally or more intense ride--the opposite effect of the stated goal of the idea.
—5th Earth, Apr 12 2005
   

       What 5th Earth said. Weights on pivots respond to dynamic forces as well as static gravitational forces. This would be fortunate as taking the force of a loop in negative rather than positive G might be quite uncomfortable.
—st3f, Apr 12 2005
   

       I would definitely prefer to be upside down when I throw up (cleaner).
—Ling, Apr 12 2005
   

       [UnaBubba][5th Earth] : What would you think of the idea of a coaster where the cage wasn't free-spinning, but was controlled via some means (either electric or mechanical)? I would think there would be some interesting possibilities there.
—supercat, Apr 12 2005
   

       [supercat], see link.
—5th Earth, Apr 12 2005
   

       //but was controlled via some means (either electric or mechanical)? //   

       Use a gyroscope.
—Ling, Apr 13 2005
   


 

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