h a l f b a k e r yQuis custodiet the custard?
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You have a large spinning cone which is narrow at the
bottom and widens to 50 or 60 feet across at the top.
People enter at the bottom portion through a hole
perhaps
5 feet across and are pinned to the side by the
centripetal
force of the cone. The interior of the cone is very
slippery
polished wood so the movement imparted to the person
as
they enter is gradual enough, sliding at first then
spinning
so they're not hurt.
As they climb up the cone, they're held to the side and
assisted in their spider like climb by the spinning of the
cone. When they've had enough they can either try to
slide
down, which may or may not be possible, or the ride can
just slow to a stop gradually with everybody sliding out
of
the ride like pebbles in a funnel.
You would need to hire an industrial safety engineer
and
tell him "Make this work without it killing anybody smart
guy."
Variation: It's two cones, you can enter at the bottom
and exit through the top. This would address Max's point
that without some kind of barrier at the top this would
be a pretty effective people launcher.
[link]
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You might also want to tell the engineer to put some kind of
lid on the wide end of it. |
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Once people are having fun my job is done. Getting them
out of the ride alive is not my department. |
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If the cone is actually more of a bell shape, curved in slightly at the top, then sadly it will no longer be // a pretty effective people launcher. // |
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You could test it out with a scrap cyclone separator funnel and some scaffolding. Mythbusters would be your friends there, we think. |
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Yes - bell-shaped - the angle should start shallow at the bottom, and then increase as the radius increases, so that the centripetal force matches that of gravity, so you can walk around.
The ride never stops.
If you're strong enough to walk out of the top you can benefit from the special bonus feature (and the admiration of your colleagues). |
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... one of whom will no doubt be delegated to give the eulogy at your memorial service. |
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// the centripetal force matches that of gravity // |
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If you consider the geometry, at that point you will experience the equivalent of 1.414g, on a 45 degree slope. |
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// you enlarge it by Horatio of 1.414 : 1 // |
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Ah, quite the "Nelson touch", eh, [Ian] ? |
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Or maybe it was Emma Hamilton ... |
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The ride can slow down slowly, allowing passengers to disembark as they reach the bottom and only stop when the last passenger has reached a safe distance from the floor. If I'm not mistaken the safety requirement that a ride not ever come to a rapid halt is already fairly common. |
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As people clamber up the slippery, spinning interior of the cone, it would be a tragically missed opportunity were they not permitted to shoot one another with paintball guns. Success will only come to those expert in on-the-fly calculations of Coriolis effects. |
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